The Art of Life (or is it Love?)
by KiraLiven
Summary: How James Potter went from 'Potter, the arrogant toerag' to 'James, Head Boy.' Or, how James and Liy got together and their last year at Hogwarts. Jily but also has mentions of the war
1. Prologue

**Alright. This is my first HP ff, and I feel really bad about that. Personally I think it's because Rowling ended hers so well there's no need for ff. But, of course, there can never be enough Marauder's Era and Jily.**

**So now everyone will know my secret obsession with the marauders era and how I've been combing AO3 and here, of course, for good Jily fics, although I don't think I've favorited any of them.**

**Basically after looking around for specific stories and deciding that I might as well put together exactly what I figured happened (looking for someone who thinks just like you do is harder than it looks) so that at least there will be a fic there for it.**

**Note: none of the dates are sure, I just made sure the years were correct.**

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><p>Prologue<p>

If one were to go to Gryffindor Tower on May 29, 1977, they would find themselves in the midst of a celebration. Now, this wasn't a rare occurrence—the Marauders decided to throw a party in the Gryffindor common room every time something good happened to the house: after winning quidditch games, exams, Christmas and Easter and every holiday they could think of (these were also used as excuses to get people out of Slug club parties).

For this occasion in particular, however, it was for winning the inter-house quidditch cup. And it was not being thrown by the Marauders.

It's not to say that parties aren't parties if the Marauders didn't throw it. In fact, this party was almost up to par with all the others that were thrown by them. After all, they weren't the only ones who knew where the kitchens were, or had a secret stash of butterbeer and firewiskey somewhere in their dorm. The thing that made this party different was the lack of enthusiasm.

The last game of the year, against Hufflepuff, which had happened only one hour prior to the party, had been heart-wrenching. No one could decide whether the team had played the best yet, or their worst. Certainly there was a sort of lack of coordination and teamwork in their last match, what with the beaters doing their own thing and the chasers a completely other. There had definitely been some switch-ups, since Potter had lost his seeker to a nasty curse that the Slytherins claimed to have nothing to do with but ultimately did, and in his panic (and lack of a reserve for seekers) had no other choice than to place himself as seeker and his best reserve to take his place as chaser.

Some people now wondered why Potter wasn't seeker to begin with. (Of course, if one were to ask him, he would reply that seekers were out of the way most of the time, and although many consider them the most important, the seeker's job would be useless without chasers, who although did have to share the glory with their other chaser teammates and the seeker, were the ones who really made the goals and won the games.) Potter's team had played a mediocre game in general, making about half as many goals as they usually did. The beaters coordinated terribly, and the reserve chaser (poor thing!) had nearly died because of a bludger to the head, but Potter had, in the end, won the game. He managed to feign seeing the snitch so many times, each time weaving in and out of Hufflepuff's careful manoeuvres, that the Hufflepuff seeker (a much worse flier than Potter) had crashed into his fellow chaser and both had to be sent to the hospital wing. (If asked, he had not intended to do so, only to break them up and upset their plans, but he was secretly glad everything went so well.)

So yes, the team performed rather badly, but by some stroke of good luck and lots of James Potter's excellent quidditch skills, they won the game and the quidditch cup. Everyone, especially Lily Evans, expected Potter to gloat and boast about his performance. But he had merely smiled tiredly at the festivities, going up to bed after a decent amount of time. If people noticed, they tried not to feel bad that the celebrant was not happy with the celebration. But Lily was determined to find out what was the matter with Potter (before talking with Remus about stopping this party).

She was much better friends with Remus, but decided that it would be better for her to talk to Black first, if she wanted quick results. Sirius Black had taken a completely different approach to the party than his best friend did, and an hour into it, was drunk and snogging girls one after another. Lily intercepted before he could find another one, pushing him back into the sofa and taking the seat beside him.

"Well, Evans, fancy seein' you 'ere." He slurred. "Y'know, Prongs'd prob'ly kill me 'f we snogged."

"I don't want to snog you." Lily replied curtly. "And Potter doesn't own me or anything, I can snog whoever I want to and he has no right to say anything or do anything about it."

"Wha'?" Black furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Lily regretted talking to him already.

"What happened between you and Potter?" Lily finally ground out. "You two played as if you were on different teams today, and you and your mates are apart all the time. What happened?"

"Y' know what happened." Sirius was frowning fully, now, as if remembering a bad dream. "I mess'd up, now Moony hates me 'nd Prongs thinks 'm an idiot and a prat 'nd Wormy doesn' know who t' hang with."

"I see." Lily pursed her lips. "And do you even feel bad about this at all…?" But Black had already turned away from her, trying to catch the eye of some brunette across the room. Lily sighed. It seemed Remus was the better option after all.

Remus was doing something far better with his time than Lily had. She found him taking firewiskey away from a pair of second years, sending them off to their dorms. He grinned wearily at her when she approached, and she couldn't help but noticed how ragged he looked. Was the full moon coming up, or was it simply something to do with the 'mess up' of Sirius?

"Hey Lily." He said, turning to glare at the second years as they hesitated on the stairs. "Been telling all those below fourth year to get to bed already. Harder than it looks."

Lily studied his face again. It had always been worn-down and wise, consequences of being a werewolf, but there seemed to be extra worry-lines on his face, marks along his forehead where he had frowned.

"Are you okay?" She asked him. "You and… the other marauders…" She hesitated. "You don't have to tell me anything." She said hurriedly. "I just want to make sure you're all right. I remember falling out with my best friend since before Hogwarts, and it wasn't pretty."

"Snape?" Lupin asked quietly, and Lily nodded. "Yeah… I suppose you could say it's similar…" He sighed. "It's about my… illness." Lily's eyes widened as she made sense of his words. "Oi, you!" Remus called out suddenly, causing Lily to jump. "Hey, first years have to go to bed already! Up to your dorms!" Two girls darted back up the stairs to their dormitory. "Sorry about that. But yeah, Sirius told someone, and I… I nearly—" Lupin looked away quickly, and Lily laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Whatever might have happened, it didn't." She said soothingly. "And you in that state is not the real you. Whatever he might have done means nothing about your own character."

"It is the real me, Lily, don't you see?" Remus whispered, and turned back to look at her pleadingly. "I am that monster. No, it's true, don't deny it." He continued as she shook her head and made to speak. "My friends call me _Moony_, for Merlin's sake. This is as much a part of me as everything else. And I nearly killed—or worse, _turned_—someone. How can I let my own mates near me with that knowledge?"

"I don't know what you've been drinking, Remus, but you've got to stop with these delusions." Lily announced, plucking the firewiskey out of his hands (they were the second years', but it proved her point, so Lily took it anyway). "Do you want to know who you are? You're a 6th year prefect who is very good a charms and defence against the dark arts, and pretty good in all the other subjects. You're my friend, but not my best friend, and you best mates are Black, Pettigrew, and Potter. You four are the marauders, and although I don't approve of your marauding, I have to hand it to you: you four are as close as people can get. So stop wallowing and feeling bad for yourself, it's not like you failed a class or anything, and get your friends back!" With that, Lily Evans flounced away, placing the firewiskey in a 7th year's hand and grabbing a third year obviously trying to catch Marlene Mckinnon's eye (too young, _way_ too young).

"Up to bed with you." She said to him. "She's too old for you."

"Then you'd be just right, now won't you?" He tried.

"Marls and I are in the same year, and you're only thirteen." She retorted. "I'm only going up with you so that I can check up on everyone else up there, make sure you aren't drinking yourselves to oblivion on your own."

True to her word, Lily performed a few spells to bring her to the nearest alcohol, deposited the boy to his dorm, and followed the spell up to the 6th year dorms, where she ended it.

Well, she'd already talked to Remus and Black about it, and Peter was so scared of her he'd probably hide before she could get a word out, so she might as well finish off with Potter. She didn't want Remus and Sirius moping around anymore.

She immediately decided that Sirius and Potter, although supposedly at odds right now, were in fact the same person. The only difference between the two of them was that Potter was drinking by himself, and there were no women. Well, there was her, now, but that wasn't the point.

"Whaddya want?" He demanded.

"I just wanted to check up on you." Lily said softly. "Make sure you're all right."

"Yeah, well, 'm just peachy right now. Won a game almost single-handedly, after all."

"That was only because you and Sirius had a row."

"A bit more than a row, really." Potter sighed, moving from the foot of his bed where he had been sprawled to sit comfortably on his bed, and Lily wondered whether he really was all that drunk. "But you don't need to know about it." He smirked, and, just like she had when talking to Black, Lily began to regret doing this. They had finally been able to talk to each other civilly, did he have to become arrogant and ask her out again? "What you do need to know is that there's only you and me here, right now, in this room—"

"No. Goodbye, Potter."

Lily went straight to bed. Remus could handle the party. He was, after all, a marauder.

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><p><strong>um... okay... It'll get better?<strong>

**I tried to make it the least OOC as I could. In terms of relationships, I figured that Lily was really good friends with Remus, friends with Black, and tolerates Potter at this point. (my explanation with Black is that he shows that blood isn't everything and Lily proves that too, so Black is like, an older brother to her. Also, they both know what it's like to be hated by a sibling you pretend to hate too, but actually love, just for being who you are.)**

**So, Review! Tell me what I need to improve on, including the accents or whatever, I'm american but trying to use british lingo idk if its working.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Blimey, this was written like, a week ago and I kept forgetting about it! sorry.**

**I'll be the first to admit that I have no idea what I'm doing. I hope all this makes sense... It's like, this idea has been with me for a while and I kept thinking it'd go away and all I have to do is read more Jily fics, but unfortunately, that didn't work and now this story is here and demanding to appear. Dunno if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Definitely getting in the way of me writing something substantial, but it probably wasn't gonna happen anyway.**

**Quick note: I thought strikethrough was a thing here, turns out it isn't, so I've improvised and used -as the beginning of the strikethrough and- as the end. Hope that makes sense. Also, I had planned all of this in James' point of view, but then somewhere along the way I realised that Lily's would probably be easier. So... yeah.**

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><p><span>Part one: The Art of Deflation<span>

Or, summer brings about letters and friendships

Chapter one

"I'd feel terrible, Moony, if you don't let us visit you during the full moon." James said, his head stuck in the fire of his living room. "Padfoot's come around some more, he's almost regretful about what he did."

"And I'd feel terrible knowing you were there, in danger." Remus replied.

"No, we wouldn't be in danger. C'mon, Moony, we've done this a million times and we've been fine each time."

"All those cuts and bruises, that horrible scar you got from 5th year, you call those being 'fine'?"

"Well, maybe not completely fine, but that's all part of it, isn't it, Remus? We promised you we wouldn't let you go through all this alone, that we'd be with you and help you. We won't go back on that promise."

"Visit me the day after, then, that helps."

"Not as much as staying with you the entire time. You can't fool me, Moony, I'm your best mate."

"Wormtail's my best mate right now."

"_Remus_. Look, if you're not going to let us come, we'll go ourselves! We'll come right after the sun's gone down, burst open the lock, and be there anyway."

"Fine, come on over on Friday. But make sure Padfoot is up to it, alright, and its not just that you dragged him here?" Remus raised his head suddenly. "I've got to go, my mum wants me to go to the store." He flashed James a grin. "See you on the full moon, Prongs."

"See ya, Moony." James pulled his head out.

"Who were you talking to?" A familiar voice called from behind, causing James to jump and whirl around.

"Moony." He replied casually to his best friend. "He didn't want us to come this Friday, but I convinced him otherwise."

Sirius nodded. "Good." He hesitated. "He knows that I'm… erm… Sorry, right?"

"I dunno. Did you tell him?"

"Well, each time I think to bring it up, he avoids it, or says that he should be thanking me for reminding him how dangerous he is." Sirius sighed. "Anyway, any owls for me?" James opened his mouth to turn the topic back to Moony and the Incident, but the look on Padfoot's face changed his mind, and he shook his head instead.

"None yet. Why? Already talking up some bird?" He teased half-heartedly. "Hoping to get a head start for next year?"

"No, I told Evans to write. The war's been making it a bit hard for her and her family."

"Right. How is it that my two best mates are friends with my love, and yet she still hates me?"

"She doesn't exactly hate you, Prongs. She just thinks you're—and these are her words, not mine—an arrogant toerag. And she's a bit right, mate. You tend to show off so much around her you end up looking rather conceited."

"But we've had a few civil conversations already, and I stopped showing off so much! I even kept from hexing that Ravenclaw boy she went on that one date with!"

"That's because you were in the hospital wing at the time."

"That's not the point! I still didn't do it!"

"Then I suppose you're on the right track. I'll remind her of that in the next letter."

"No! I'm going to start writing her."

"I wouldn't if I were you…"

"I'll keep the showing off to a minimum. And I can handle birds, Sirius, no need to worry. Just because I haven't snogged every other girl in school doesn't mean I'm inexperienced."

"You're inexperienced because you've spent your entire dating life trying to get Evans to go out with you."

"I've snogged before!"

"What, that one time when we played seven minutes in heaven? With McDonald?"

"Er…"

"Right, you go ahead and write that letter. Just don't come running to me when her reply comes in with a curse attached to it."

"Wait, but Padfoot! I don't know how to start my letter!"

"How about, 'Hello Lily' or 'Dear Miss Evans' or at least a salutations?"

"Sod it, I'll just wait until Friday to ask Remus. You're terrible at giving advice. Let's go work on your motorbike. I'm certain we can get it to fly."

James headed out of the living room, but Sirius stopped him.

"Hey, thanks, mate." He said quietly. "For forgiving me and everything. Understanding."

"If we can't trust our own friends, we can't trust anyone." James replied. "And that'd be a very sad world to live in."

~0~

_Dear Lily, _Lily read. This was her last summer at her parent's house, and she was spending it by staying by herself in the house, spending time with her family, and finding a job. She had also managed to start corresponding with her Hogwarts friends and pretend to her neighbours that they had merely imagined the numerous owls flying about her house. She was currently reading a letter from Remus Lupin.

_Dear Lily,_ the letter read,

_I know I already told you this, but I simply can't thank you enough for being there for me this year. I just talked to James, and after a half-hearted argument, I'm glad to say that they (and by they I mean him and Sirius) will be coming over to my house this Friday to keep me company. James said that Sirius is becoming 'regretful' (his words, not mine), although Sirius has yet to tell me that himself. Of course, part of that is because I haven't been letting him. You were there last day of school, when Sirius tried to apologise. I'm afraid it's been like that for a while. But I've decided that perhaps forgiving him and setting aside my fears might be worth it. I hadn't realised how much I hated being alone after one of my episodes, since they've been there for me these past seven years._

_But enough about me and my 'wallowing,' as I seem to recall you calling it, how are you doing? Petunia still giving you a hard time? Is she still with that walrus man? What was his name, something like Vermin, if I remember correctly? How are your parents? Mine are all over the place, half of the time hoping that I'll get out of the house more, the other half promising me that they'll help me out next year if ever I need to stay with them. I'm more than sure I'll be able to find a place to stay on my own next year._

_Can you believe this is our last summer? That next year is our last school year? In a year's time, on this day, we'll be out in the world, looking for jobs and finding places to live, never to go to Hogwarts again? Unless, of course, we become teachers, which I can honestly see you doing. But, of course, you want to be an auror, or a healer, right? Someone who actively works to fight You-Know-Who and his followers? I reckon I'd do something like that too, if I really could. I couldn't, but I might as well try._

_You turned seventeen this year. Are you following through with your plan to ward your parents' house? A bit hard to do so on muggles, as I told you earlier, but I do suggest doing a few things, at least while you're home. I don't want you in danger while you're away from Hogwarts, and when we leave you'll have to be 100 percent capable of putting up wards around your house. Merlin knows you're going to need it more than us._

_I have to go now, mum wants to teach me some 'domestic spells' so that I can live by myself and keep my place clean without someone else to do it for me. She thinks my dorm looks like a pig sty. She fails to realise that it only looks that way because of my roommates, and that my side of the room is the only neat part of it. I've known how to clean with magic for years now._

_Hope to hear from you soon,_

_Remus Lupin_

Lily grinned and grabbed a clean piece of parchment, inking down something about him being the 'domestic one' in his relationship with Sirius Black (she loved to tease them about it; she wondered when they'd realise that they love each other and are perfect for each other.) before answering his earlier questions (yes, Petunia is still as surly as ever, and her walrus boyfriend was _Vernon Dursley_, not Vermin, although it was a good nickname for him. Her parents were fine, and now that he mentions it, she probably should put up some better wards to keep her parents safe, since the war was getting worse and worse every day now and Death Eaters were targeting the parents of muggle-borns as well, but her parents were blissfully ignorant, as she had only told them that there was a war going on in order to explain all the disappearances to them. No, she couldn't believe it was her last year, but she felt ready anyway. She wanted to be an auror more than a healer, since they were more out there, but the ministry wasn't doing much as of now and she wasn't so sure about working for them anymore. Perhaps the resistance led by Dumbledore?).

Then she wrote more about him not belittling himself, that he had plenty of qualifications and that _if none of those tossers will hire you or people reject you in the resistance, then I'll start up my own organisation or business and hire you myself, and together we'll win the war for the whole world to see. Watch them have prejudice against werewolves after that._ She also talked about not thanking her again, how she was only telling him the truth when she said all those things about him and that if she ever heard him 'wallowing' about his illness and how it seemed to define him, she'll hex him into oblivion. _You, Sirius, and I seem to be the only ones who understand that it's not what what you cannot control in your life that defines you, it's what you do about it that shows how strong you truly are._

Signing at the bottom and tucking it into an envelope, she sent Remus' owl back to his master, turning instead to Marlene's letter.

Marlene's family was quite in hiding, seeing as most of them were fighting You-Know-Who and their father (also fighting) was a muggle-born himself. But to keep up pretences and pretend that her entire family wasn't in the resistance, Marlene was allowed to send letters to her friends. As a consequence, however, they were dreadfully dull and with no information whatsoever, and Lily learned nothing about her friend's happenings, replying with a letter just as vague and falsely cheerful. (They also used to false name Melissa, so that no one could track it back to a muggle-born.)

The next few days were spent waiting for more owls, scanning the obituary column of the _Daily Prophet_ (never anything these days, the ministry liked to keep everything hush-hush) pretending not to see Severus on the street, and catching up with her muggle friends and family.

Finally, five days after her last letter, five owls flew to her window. They tapped incessantly against her windowpane, waking her up at seven in the morning on a Sunday. She tiredly let them in, paying the owl delivering the _Daily Prophet _and untying all the other letters from the four other birds.

She opened Marlene's first, since she was still tired and Marlene's letters were bound to be easy to understand and reply to. There was nothing new, something about having tea with her grandmother and being forced to babysit her nephew, and Lily replied with a story she heard from her friends and an apology if her letter made no sense, since she was still half-asleep.

Of the other three owls, only one had stayed, flying into Morgana's cage and nipping at her food. Deciding to leave the two owls to figure things out (Morgana was very gracious about her space), Lily headed downstairs to eat and read the newspaper. She said good morning to her parents and made plans with them to eat lunch together later, and after reading the _Daily Prophet_ from front to back, as was her habit, announced that there was nothing new to her parents and headed back upstairs to read and reply to the rest of the letters.

The owl that remained (and was currently perched on her bedpost, having been kicked out of the cage) was Alice's, who had only recently visited Frank Longbottom's parents and needed to tell someone about it.

_His mother sure has character. Snapped at Frank for slouching earlier, but was perfectly kind to me._ She wrote, before asking about Lily's summer and announcing that she and her family were going to France for a while, _but only my parents and I, since Fabian and Gideon decided they 'had better things to do',_ she added, which meant that they, too, had joined the resistance. Lily's reply was rather brief, since nothing of interest had happened that summer, but she wished Alice and her family well. (Which she hoped translated well enough into 'I wish Fabian and Gideon luck in fighting Voldemort.)

Lily was left with a letter from Remus and another from _Messrs. James Potter and Sirius Black_. She opened Potter and Black's first.

_My dearest Lilyflower,_ it started, in Sirius' proud handwriting,

_There is no fathoming the depths of my love for you. I care for you so much, I have been willing to dispatch my best mate, a now-deceased James Potter, in order to appease you._

_I'm just joking of course. I'd never hurt James on purpose, not even if James himself asked me to, let alone for some bird. Not that you're just some bird, mind you, but that's not the point now, is it?_

_Anyway, Prongsie and I decided to save parchment and our owl by writing our letters on the same paper and sending it at the same time, but I got to write first, since I'm you friend and James is not. (Yet.)_

_All I really want to say is thank you. I figure you've heard this already from Moony, and probably even Wormtail, although he's gone off to visit friends in Germany or somewhere on the continent, so maybe you haven't heard from him yet. But either way, thanks are required, because I must admit, without you the Marauders would be no more._

_You were there to knock sense into me and explain to Moony how utterly unworthless he is, and then knock some sense into him to make him listen to my now-making-sense self. Remus tells me that that last sentence made no sense (although you had supposedly knocked some of that into me) and that unworthless is not a word, but I told him that you and I have a connection that is almost magical and you will understand me nonetheless. I hope I was not mistaken. Just in case I am (although I rarely am) mistaken, here is the translation: I finally apologised and he finally listened and we have come to an understanding. Granted, that understanding is more-or-less the same as it had been for years, but it is still an understanding. And it is all thanks to you (and James)._

_Remus tells me that you dreadful sister is giving you a hard time again. Would you like me to come over and scare her to death? Or something close to that? Or perhaps should I attempt to scare her boyfriend away by wooing her with my devilishly good looks and charm? Only say the word and I shall be there, roses and a box of chocolates in hand. Alternately, we could steal you away and you could spend the rest of the summer with James and I at the Potter Manor, although perhaps that wouldn't be the smartest idea if we want you and Prongs in one piece by the end of summer._

_Keep in touch, love,_

_Sirius._

_P.S. I'm sirius, if you need any help, just ask and I'll pop over to do whatever it is you need me to do._

Next came Potter's letter, his rather untidy but grand handwriting sprawling across the page.

_Dear Evans,_

_First, before I get to my proper letter, I will just say yes, Sirius just used a Sirius pun. They got old in first year, but he still thinks they're funny._

_Now, my actual letter:_

_Sirius basically said it all, but I wanted to say thank you myself. I know just as well (and maybe even better) how stubborn those two can be especially with something like this. And Sirius is right, we might never have made up with each other without you. You also saved me from a massive headache and awkwardness all summer._

_I also believe it is you I have to thank for convincing Remus to forgive himself for crimes not even committed. Did he tell you that he thought himself such a monster that he decided he couldn't have friends anymore? But I managed to get him to allow us over yesterday and all is well now._

_Alright, it's not all well. Moony still sort of hates himself (hex him out of that, will you?) and Sirius keeps looking at him like he's going to blow his top at any moment and I have no idea where Wormtail is, but things are looking up. __I think we deserve a celebration for it. -Fancy popping down to Diagon Alley for- __Disregard the last few sentences, Remus told me to take it out._

_I'll have you know that as of right now, I've decided to stop asking you out. The last time I asked, if I recall correctly, you sent a bat-bogey hex my way and told me you'd rather go out with Lord Voldemort and die than go out with me. Well, I'd rather you not die, so I've decided to settle with just friends. -__Of course, if you ever come to your senses and realise that you're actually head-over-heels in love with me,-_

_I'm terrible at this, but for you, I'm willing to try._

_Thank you again for saving my friendships. I know you didn't do it for me, but I truly am grateful._

_Sincerely,_

_James Potter_

Below that, Remus had added his own little input, saying, _Sorry about James' egregious behaviour in writing, he doesn't quite know how to talk to you like a normal person, and this isn't even face-to-face. But he isn't really always like this. Just around you. Have a happy summer, Lily, and I'm writing you a letter myself right now._

Lily replied to Black first, teasing him about 'unworthless' and relaying her relief that the two friends had made up, saying (yet again) that no thanks was necessary before sarcastically and dramatically professing her love to him and thanking him for offering himself up for her, as Petunia was surely the devil in disguise. _In all actuality, Black, thanks for the offer, but I can handle her myself. She is my own sister, after all. But I'll keep in mind that you're 'sirius' in telling me to ask you for help whenever it is needed. If you need me to help with Regulus at all, just let me know._

She rolled the letter up and set it aside, pulling out a scrap piece of parchment for Potter's reply. _Potter, _she wrote.

_It is nice of you to try, at least, to consider my feelings. However, I'll have you know that as of right now, I've decided that you are still an arrogant toerag. Remus may vouch for you, but it is a well-known fact that you care only for you and your fellow Marauders and no one else, so I will not take his word for this one. The only redeeming part of your letter was when you thanked me and mentioned how you were aware that I did nothing for you. However, you seemed to have forgotten that although we have mutual friends, I do not actually care about you and whether or not you are grateful. _

_Please note that if I already knew how to attach curses to letters, I would, but since I don't yet know and I can't be bothered to spend time finding out how to just for you, you've managed to get through this one unscathed. Of course, if you would give this letter to Remus or Sirius to read, please, one of you hex him for me._

_Lily Evans_

_P.S. The only thing I'll agree with you here is their stubbornness. And I will talk to Remus about his self-esteem. And have you caught on to the obvious sexual tension going on between your two best mates? I've been trying to get them to realise how perfect they are for each other._

She then opened Remus' letter, one more sophisticated and past the subject of 'thank you for saving my friendships' and such, and replied accordingly, with a long post-script about how he shouldn't think lowly of himself.

She sent all three letters off with Morgana, who flew over to Remus' house, where she knew the three boys were staying for now, before getting ready for lunch with her parents.

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><p><strong>er... right. Um... review? Even if it's terrible, please do, I just want to know what I can do to make this better. My writing's been rubbish lately, and I'm not british but trying, so... :) CC greatly appreciated.<strong>


	3. Chapter 2

**Okay, next chapter! yay! I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, but yay!**

**Thanks for ****everyone who's reading this right now, it means you actually thought the first two chapters were good enough to continue and thought to read this one, even though I know I'd have probably given up on this story already. Hopefully this chapter is better.**

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

The Marauders (minus Wormtail—he was still in Germany) were settled around the table for a game of exploding snap when an owl soared into the room. James' cards promptly exploded, singeing his eyebrows and causing Sirius to roar with laughter as Remus, tired but unmistakably happy, moved over to untie the letters from the owl's leg.

"Lily's replied." Remus called out. Immediately, James stopped threatening to blast off Sirius' eyebrows and Sirius, with a knowing smirk, turned expectantly towards Remus. "Blimey, she's replied in three different letters and one owl." He stroked Morgana idly. "Padfoot." He tossed him a scroll. "Prongs." He handed him a small envelope. "She really didn't waste time or resources answering you, mate. Sorry."

"But it's still enough to send a curse." Sirius warned.

"Evans wouldn't." James insisted, but eyed the envelope warily. "Would you mind opening that for me, Moony?"

Remus snorted. "Nope. You're on your own, Prongs."

"I have time and time again—" James cut off at Remus' look, and remembered that they may be together and they may be friends again, but not everything was as it had been before.

James waited until Moony and Padfoot had opened their letters—curse-free and evidently written of good will—before apprehensively prying open his own.

"Hah!" James jumped up and punched the air victoriously. "No curse! You owe me a galleon, Padfoot."

"How do you know it's not timed or anything, that it won't spring on you when you're least suspecting it?" Sirius retorted.

"Because she says, right here." James picked the paper up and read off it, "'_Please note that if I already knew how to attach curses to letters, I would, but since I don't yet know and I can't be bothered to spend time finding out how to just for you, you've managed to get through this one unscathed.' _So that means she didn't curse me!"

"Let me see that!" Sirius grabbed the paper from him, quickly scanning its contents. "But it also says that Moony and I ought to curse you, and in reality, those are almost the same things."

"Not the same." James insisted again. "It's not the same if she doesn't choose the spell."

"Oh, right, I forgot," Sirius drawled, rolling his eyes at Moony. "Because it's only amazing and brilliant and smart if _she_ does it, even if it does hurt you."

"Don't go there. You read my letter. I'm only going to pursue a nice, normal friendship with Evans now. No asking her out, no fancying her."

"Can't exactly say 'I don't fancy Lily Evans anymore' Prongs, doesn't work that way." Moony remarked, ignoring the glare James sent his way. "You can't wish away feelings."

"But I can pretend they don't exist. For the sake of our friendship!"

"You're not friends yet."

"And that, Padfoot—and Moony too, of course—is where you come in. You're both friends with her, which almost automatically makes me friends with her too, and all you have to do is convince her I'm not that bad."

"You're first letter wasn't very convincing, Prongs."

"Yeah, and _you_ have to be the one to convince her. She won't believe it unless you show her you've changed. And actually change."

"This will be a summer of changes, then. Neither of you are to hinder me in my metamorphosis."

"You're changing for a _bird? _I mean, yeah, it's Lily-flower, so it's more acceptable, but no bloke ought to change for a bird."

"You're right, she has to like me for being me. But since she doesn't, maybe I should change me."

"That's exactly the same as what Padfoot just said, Prongs."

"And this is why we're friends, Moony. You are the voice of reason within the four—well, three right now—of us. Without you, Moony, we would all be lost and—"

"Bugger off, Padfoot."

"Hmm, I do see what Evans was saying now, about you two being perfect for each other." James' eyes narrowed. "You haven't been keeping something from me, have you?"

"I will ignore you, my dear Mister Prongs, as I have ignored Lily-flower's jabs at my manliness and sexuality. I am very manly, I'll have you know."

"Well Remus could be the girl." A second passed, the three friends looking at each other in silence, before bursting into laughter.

"I can't believe I missed you, Prongs." Remus said once the urge to laugh had subsided.

"Well, what can I say?" James shrugged. "I'm irresistible."

~0~

_Dear Evans,_

_I would say that I took offence that you felt the need to point out that, had you the knowledge, you would have hexed me through the letter. I feel this deeply mars our potential friendship—friends should not threaten to curse each other at every possible moment._

_Yes, I am admitting it: I want to be your friend. Think of this letter as an olive branch of sorts, a 'sorry for being a prick and an arrogant toerag' and also a 'thank you for everything you've done for Sirius and Remus.' (I know you said not the thank you again, but I must mention it. I truly am thankful.)_

_In your previous letter, you said I tried to consider your feelings. I realise that my actions in the past do not reflect this, but I have always cared deeply for your feelings, mostly your affections. But now I am merely striving to be a good friend, and so will work on properly helping you in the things you need help in and not think about my own wants and needs. Focus on feelings not of love, but of everything else._

_And yes, I do care for my fellow Marauders, we are closer than you'll ever know. But I do care about other things—namely, my Quidditch team, but others as well—and I care about you. If you're willing to care about me too—as friends, that is—then I think we could get along wonderfully._

_I think you should consider my offer._

_James_

_P.S. I think that together, we could get the two together. They'd be happy, I think, to find people who they know will accept them for who they are. Also, Remus sent me a bat-bogey hex. He also fixed me up less than five minutes later, but it's the thought that counts, yeah?_

Lily Evans sighed as she dropped the letter from Potter and massaged her temple. Why did he feel the need to be more insufferable than usual? Holidays were spent away from him for a reason; she didn't want him ruining her perfectly good summer.

Deciding not to answer him, she picked up Sirius' letter (they had come together, just like before). There was a copied page from a book she assumed Sirius found in the library about sending hexes through letters, along with a few remarks as to which curses would be the best, in his opinion, to send James. She considered trying it on Potter—after all, part of knowing how to combat something is knowing how they work, and what better way than to learn how something works than to try it out herself? She'd be doing Potter a favour too, by teaching him to be wary of his letters.

She replied to Sirius' actual letter, telling him that she would consider sending a hex through and if he _would be so kind as to not tell Potter of my plans, I would be very grateful. _

"Lily!" Her mother called from downstairs, "Lunch! Petunia and Vernon just got here, don't keep everyone waiting now!"

~0~

_Remus and Sirius,_

_Oh, everything is simply terrible! The world must truly hate me! This is by far the worst summer of my life—and this is also the last. How horrible!_

_But you don't even know what I'm saying! How silly of me!_

_Petunia's engaged. He proposed to her yesterday and she—who I thought had at least a slightly better taste than that—said yes! Yes! To a horrible, fat, ugly, conceited, arrogant—more so than even Potter—walrus of a thing! To make matters worse, he hates me! And, he thinks he's oh-so-amazing because he has a stable job in drilling and he's only 21!_

_That's another thing! They're 21! If I ever get married before I'm at least 25, you both must knock some sense into me, please. Hex me to oblivion, brew me an antidote to whatever love potion I must have took, anything to stop me. 21 is much too young to decide who you want to be with for the rest of your life._

_I can't believe Petunia was serious with him. I mean, even she can do better than Vermin! He thinks no one else's opinions matter and that he must be the last say in everything. I'm fairly certain even my parents hate him, and were only pretending to be happy for them. Of course, they denied it when I asked, but still._

_Honestly, this has been the worst day of my life, put into the worst summer of my life. First, I'm stuck here, even though I can apparate, because Marlene's staying with her family in who-knows-where and Alice is going to France, and I've just realised that they're my only two friends in school with whom I'm close enough to bother seeing over the summer! I mean, of course, there's you two, but seeing you would mean having to see Potter, most likely, and that's another reason why this summer has been terrible. Potter's been writing me nearly non-stop—you two have got some serious apologising to do. What kind of friends are you, encouraging Potter to keep antagonising me, and countering whatever hexes I send to him? I have enough on my plate to deal with aside from his constant annoying presence in the form of letters! Tell him to stop, or I will steal his owl for myself, and then he'll never be able to send anyone letters at all! Or better yet, I'll send him so many curses at once that it'll take forever for him to revert back to normal._

_Can you believe Petunia? I'm sorry, I'm still in shock right now. You know, Vermin insulted me—in front of my whole family? And she still considered marrying him! Is actually going to marry him! Him, the most horrid person I've ever met! And that's including all those pureblood manias like Bellatrix or Malfoy._

_Really, the only thing worse—alright, just as bad, not necessarily worse—than a pureblood fanatic and a muggle-hater is someone like Tuney and her (ugh) fiancé in being a wizard-hater and calling us all freaks. And I've had the pleasure (note the sarcasm and bitterness) of having met both of those two people in my 17 years of living. The lucky ones never meet one or the other—those are the purebloods and the muggles, or the lucky half-bloods. Mudbloods aren't lucky like that—And yes, I just used that word, because I'm feeling terrible and I hate myself and my family right now. Sirius, I think I know how you feel now, when your entire family seems to have betrayed you. I can't believe you lasted as long as you did._

_Alright, I think I'm done, for now. I'm sending this to Sirius, since I'm assuming all three of you are at Potter's place? If not, Sirius, please pass this on to Remus. Thank you both for listening—in a manner of speaking—to me._

_Yours most upset,_

_Lily Evans_

_—_

_Dear Evans,_

_I have been informed of your predicament and how horrible your summer is. I was also told of how I have played a part in your terrible summer, and so this is my last letter to you, I promise._

_I'm terribly sorry. I've been a prat lately—I kept sending you owls when you didn't answer me, and even when you sent me hexes, pressuring you to be my friend, and I realise now that your silence and hostility really meant no and not ever._

_With regards as to your sister, Petunia, Padfoot and Moony say that she's getting married to someone who's horrid? If you want any prank ideas—well, I suppose you could always ask Padfoot or Moony, but I'll help too, if you'd like me to. Then again, this is my last letter, so I guess asking Padfoot is the only option… Disregard the last few sentences._

_But I am sorry about you and your sister. I'm an only child, but I can only imagine what it'd be like to hate your sibling. Sirius does, and he tries to forget about it, but I know it cuts him up when he does think about Regulus, or even his parents. Sometimes I forget how fortunate I've been, having caring parents and siblings who love me—er, I'm talking about the Marauders. More reason I'm fortunate, I guess: being able to choose who my brothers are. Sometimes, when Sirius is annoyed or in a funk, he laughs at me and tells me that one day my entire world will be turned upside down, and then I'll regret having such a sheltered, picture-perfect life. (Of course, I could always argue that my life isn't all that great, but compared to yours or Padfoot's, I suppose it is pretty good.)_

_If this weren't my last letter, I'd ask you how your childhood was, before you got your Hogwarts letter, or what your parents do for a living. My father was an auror and my mum was a healer. They're both retired. They married late and had me pretty late too, which is probably why I'm an only child—although, I suppose, it could also be because I was such a handful as a child, they decided never again._

_But unfortunately—or fortunately for you—this is my last letter, so I won't ask you any of those questions. However, if you ever need someone to talk, someone not any of your current friends, I'll be here. And if ever you need to get out of the house but don't want to see me, I'm willing to leave Potter Manor while you see Remus and Sirius._

_Sincerely, for the last time,_

_James Potter_

_—_

_Dear Potter,_

_Only Merlin knows why I'm doing this, but I believe that if I only talk to Sirius, Remus, and Marlene, I will go crazy. Petunia's begun wedding planning, and I can't leave my room for fear of being bombarded with pink and white and snide looks—I'm sure that if mum and dad didn't insist it, she wouldn't even invite me to her wedding (not that I particularly want to go, but she is my sister, after all)._

_My dad is a doctor (that's like a healer for muggles) and my mum an elementary teacher (for children between the ages of 4 and 11). Before I knew I was a witch? Well, we were a pretty happy and normal family. Occasionally I'd do something that scared Petunia—some magic, something dangerous for muggles but perfectly safe for me—but other than that, we were pretty happy. Tuney was my best friend when we were younger, even though she hated when I did weird stuff. I have to admit that sometimes, especially during the summers, I wish I wasn't a witch, so that maybe Petunia and I could still be friends._

_Because, of course, we had to meet Sev, when I was about 8, and then suddenly we weren't even friends anymore. I mean, before Hogwarts, I'd still try to placate her, tell her that I just wanted other friends besides her, that she had other best friends so why shouldn't I, but then I got my letter and everything went downhill from there. (It also didn't help that Sev hated her because she was a muggle, although back then I thought it was just that he didn't want to share me with her.) And then, to squeeze lemon juice on an open wound, Sev had to go into Slytherin and make all the wrong choices and all the wrong friends and then suddenly I'd lost another best friend. To be honest, sometimes I'm scared Marlene will stop being friends with me too, and I'll be best-friend-less once more._

_I can't believe I just told you that. I'm supposed to hate you, and yet I'm telling you things I've never even told Marlene!_

_So in return, you have to tell me about your life before you got your Hogwarts letter, about being pampered and waited on by house-elves, your mummy healing your scrapes from practicing Quidditch. Tell me about your best friend before Sirius, about being an only child. I'd like some fresh air, to hear a story about someone who doesn't have problems. Sirius and Remus have more than enough, and although they can empathise because of it, it's also quite taxing, trading secrets and problems._

_Can't believe I'm doing this,_

_Lily Evans_

_P.S. In case you didn't get it, I actually would like you to send me another letter, so long as it isn't filled with flirting and arrogance._

~0~

"I don't know what to do, Moony, you've got to give me better advice than that!" James groaned, flopping onto the couch in exasperation.

"What's wrong with 'do what you think you should do?'"

"I don't know what I think I should do!"

"How about what _she_ wants you to do? She told you to write, didn't she?"

"Prongs, mate, you've wanted her to reply to you civilly for the last two weeks." Sirius said, looking up from his meticulous drawings of his motorbike. "And now she finally has, and you _don't_ want to reply?"

"Well I did say my last one was the last I'd ever send."

"Then have me send it. Or Moony."

"Or, here's a thought, just _send her a letter_." Moony suggested. "And stop moping."

"She asked me to talk about my childhood."

"Then talk about your childhood."

"But I didn't have a childhood!"

"'Course you had a childhood, Prongs, you can't possibly be that daft."

"Before Hogwarts, I mean."

"Then tell her that. Either way, write to her, and stop bothering us."

Sirius stood up, pulled James to his feet, and steered him over to the desk he had been working on. He pushed him into the seat, cleared the space, and placed a quill and blank parchment onto the table. "Write." He commanded. "In silence, please."

James glowered at his best friend for a while, before sighing in defeat and picking up the quill. _Dear Evans, _he started, then paused. For once, he had no idea what to say. The one time she genuinely wanted him to reply, he had writer's block.

_I think something is wrong with the two of us. _He finally started, _You finally responded to me, for reasons apparently only Merlin knows, and yet I've spent the last few minutes staring at your name and the blank space below it, unsure about what to write. This has never happened to me before, so I resulted in telling you whatever came into my head first._

_You wanted to read about my childhood. To be honest, I don't really consider my life before Hogwarts as a life. It was filled with asking my parents about their years at Hogwarts and studying—yes, you heard me, studying. I had this crazy thought that if I was smart enough and talented enough and I worked hard, I'd get into Hogwarts early. It never happened, but that might explain to you why I'm so amazing at everything. Sorry, you didn't want arrogance. Disregard the last sentence._

_You're right, too, in that I grew up with house-elves, two in fact, Sibby and Poppy. Sibby passed away when I was 13, though Poppy is still here. I suppose they were my best friends before Hogwarts. You see, my dad was an auror and my mum a healer, so my parents were often gone for days on end, and so Sibby and Poppy were in charge of me. My nannies, so to speak. They helped me find books, too, in our library for when I 'studied.' They played games with me, helped me make cookies to eat and clean after I blew something up. Sibby was my dad's house-elf, from when he was young—she grew to quite an old age—and sometimes, when my parents were gone, she would tell me bedtime stories. My favourites were always of my dad's days at Hogwarts, a proud Gryffindor in days gone by, before Voldemort even knew he was a wizard and the biggest problem people had were passing their exams. _

_I longed to be like my father, for my best days to be my Hogwarts years, but the only thing I wanted different in my life than in his was that I wanted to marry earlier than him. I wanted to meet my soulmate in Hogwarts and marry her, and I wanted many children—that's another thing: I was rather lonely. Many times it would just be Sibby, Poppy, and I in a great big house that I'd already explored so much I knew all its secret passageways. I wanted a sibling, but I knew even then that my parents were too old, that a little brother or sister wasn't going to happen. But I wanted to have children, and many, so that they'd never be alone, even when I wasn't there. (I wanted to be an auror like my father, so I knew I'd be gone a lot, just like him.)_

_Of course, I also loved flying. My parents taught me when I was three, and it's the earliest memory I have. We didn't go far off the ground, and my dad sat behind me, but I loved the wind in my face and looking down upon Potter Manor. Whenever I was lonely or sad, I'd go flying (if my dad allowed me that time: sometimes his missions were too risky for me to be seen flying by myself) and occasionally, Sibby and Poppy would magic twigs and balls for me to play Quidditch with. Once I actually got Poppy to play with me, but he's scared of heights, so he never went up again, and Sibby was too old to go._

_So that was my life before Hogwarts. Wandering around with my house-elves, wondering when my parents would get home, flying and studying and listening to stories about Hogwarts. Of course, we always had Christmas and New Years together (mum insisted on throwing a party every year for New Years) but all the other holidays, including birthdays, were all fair game. But I met many people my age through our New Years parties—all purebloods, but my parents are old-school: in their day, purebloods stuck with purebloods and everyone else stuck together, and that was just the way things were, no prejudice involved, just politics. Plus, as my mum would point out, there had to be a standing guest list, and we couldn't just invite everyone from Hogwarts and all their family, so we'd just invite the same pureblood households and sometimes a few good friends. (Coincidentally, the Blacks were never on that list, so I never met Sirius before school. I did, however, meet Frank, with all his aunts and uncles and his amazing mother—have you ever met her? She's quite a character; Alice and her family—did you hear about the twins? Of course you did, you two are best friends; Marlene and her family, although she never really liked me; the Bones', their youngest just graduated, and even the Smiths, they are a bit too proud, and I never really got along with them, but my dad was friends with one, so we invite their whole family. There are a few others, but I don't know if you know them. That bloke you went out with, from Hufflepuff, the one I hexed half-way through your date, his brother-in-law's mother's family, the Weasleys, are sometimes invited, but they're rather of the lower class and are so many that sometimes we just give up. Plus, none of them are my age, so it doesn't really matter to me.)_

_Anyway, back to my childhood:_

_My parents decided to retire three years after the war started, in second year. So when I could finally spend all my time with them at home, I was at school and no longer needed them to be home as often. They claim they did it because they didn't want to be involved with the war, but part of me has always wondered if maybe it was because they could finally go home and not have me vying for their attention._

_There, a secret for a secret. Don't tell anyone about that, and I won't tell anyone about Snape and your thing with best friends._

_What were your favourite things to do before Hogwarts? In fact, what are you favourite things to do now? All I know about what you do with your time is study, and I'm sure you have more of a life than that. My hobbies are no secret, it's Quidditch and maraudering. Sort of sad, how I don't really have any other hobbies, but those two practically rule my entire life._

_How's Petunia being? Marriages must be terrible to plan, if I had a sibling getting married I wouldn't leave my room either. Well I would, but only to prank them and turn everything white into blue or something like that, maybe even black. _

_Waiting for your reply,_

_James Potter_

_—_

_Dear Potter,_

_I agree, something must be wrong with us. I have an excuse, it most definitely is Petunia making me crazy, but I don't know about you…_

_Lets see, my hobbies? Reading, mostly. I love to read, although some of its magic has been lost since I learned about the wizarding world and fantasy was no longer so fantastical. I do love the classics, though. Aside from that, I suppose you're right, I love to study. You studied when you were younger because you wanted to go to Hogwarts as soon as you could, to wow the world with your talent. I study because I want to know as much as I can about our world, a world that I want desperately to belong in. (And don't you dare say any of that rubbish about how I do belong: I've worked hard to get where I am, and yet no matter what, I'll never fully belong here, nor in the muggle world. That is a fact of life.)_

_You might not understand, having been born into this world, but I want to know the limits of magic. I want to test my own limits, because so many things I once saw as impossible are possible now. You already know what is impossible in the wizarding world, but I'm willing to believe that the impossible, even for wizards, is actually possible in the long run. Although, of course, it's more than just that._

_It's a bit hard to explain, actually, now that I've started. I suppose all I'm saying is that I want to make my place in this world, prove that I actually belong. I want to be invent something, or do something daring and save the wizarding world, discover a new spell or a potion. I want to help the world._

_Do you still want to be an auror? Or is that just some fantasy of a child that you no longer are? I might consider becoming one, but as of right now, the Ministry isn't doing so well, so maybe not. Do you still want to be like your father? __Are__ you like your father? (Was he a prankster too, top of the class but never studying?)_

_You tried to make excuses for it, but you are one of those purebloods. You can't deny it: your family is a pureblood family and rather proud of it. Not that you have any problem with non-purebloods or purebloods marrying muggle-borns or anything like that, it's just that your family never does. Not quite as bad as pureblood fanatics, but not great either. Not perfect in terms of ideals, but then again, who is?_

_I've never met a house-elf. I mean, I've read about them, definitely, and heard of them, but I've never talked to one, or seen one in person. What are they like? Don't you think it's sort of horrible, though, subjecting them to slavery? Isn't it just as bad as enslaving humans? Whenever I ask things like that, people look at me like I'm crazy. Sirius actually told me that if I ever thought to be nice to house-elves, all I'd have to do is meet his family's, and all amicable thoughts about them would be dispelled. Is Kreature really that bad? What about Sibby and Poppy? I'm assuming you like them a bit more than Sirius likes Kreature. And if you have a house-elf—well, you used to have two—doesn't that mean you're rather wealthy? (Speaking of wealth, I think that was a horrid thing to say about the Weasleys. Just because they're not as rich as you does not mean you shouldn't invite them to your parties. Now I know your family is both slightly proud and prejudiced against both blood status, and economic/social class.) I never quite understood the classes of the wizarding world. I mean, for a long time I was so focused on blood status that I hadn't thought that there was a hierarchy within the purebloods, aside from feuds between families whose every member is within a certain house. I never saw how rich you are compared to other pureblood families and things like that. Sirius' family too, how prominent are they?_

_Wanting to know more,_

_Lily Evans_

_P.S. Petunia is still driving me crazy. Might need to take up your offer and see Sirius and Remus at your place._

_—_

_Dear Evans,_

_I always knew you were a swot. Though, your explanation is a good enough excuse so that you're not so bad as, let's say, Moony. His reason is just that he wants to do well in school. Plus, I must hand it to you Evans, when you dream, you dream big. Not that you can't do it, of course, just that it's a very big aspiration to have. I'm sure that one day, you'll do something that will mark you in the history books of the wizarding world forever. Some Bathilda Bagshot (or maybe even her; you never know how old people live to) will write about you in a second edition of __A History Of Magic__. I'd like to be mentioned there too, for doing something great and defeating some dark wizard, showing my Gryffindor courage for the whole world to see._

_I guess in that sense, I do still sort of want to be an auror. I agree with you, though, what with the war and all, my respect for the Ministry has gone down. Either way, I want to be able to stop dark wizards and witches, including Voldemort. Perhaps I'll join you-know-what (not you-know-who, the other thing) and maybe I'll be mentioned in old Bathilda's second edition for having defeated him, or at least playing a major role in his defeat._

_My dad was a bit more mature than I, I think. (I'm sort of jumping around to different topics, sorry.) I'll admit it, your question made me think. Obviously he was pretty good in school (aurors have to be top of their class) but what I remember more from the stories are his days of fun. He was on the Quidditch team too, but keeper, and he wasn't captain. He was prefect, although he also liked to have fun and pranked occasionally. I went to school determined to get into Gryffindor and be the most popular kid in school by being funny, seemingly not taking classes seriously and yet doing very well in it, being on the Quidditch team, and making people laugh though pranks, just like I saw my father doing in his Hogwarts years. But I think I didn't quite understand the difference between making people laugh because of funny situations and fun, and making people laugh at another's expense. I'd blame Peeves and Padfoot, but the truth of the matter is that I was immature, didn't understand, and never thought to look back and consider the right and wrong of my own actions, focusing instead on the right and wrong of others. I was a pretty self-righteous git and a hypocrite. Actually, I still am, aren't I?_

_But you knew all of this already. I'm such an idiot, blaming everyone else for all the bad things you said about me—all those true things you said about me—but really, I should've just tried to make myself a better man. But I promise, I've matured. I'll be better in school next year, and I'll knock some sense into Padfoot too, although I think the Snape/Remus incident did that for him already._

_My __parents__ are those types of purebloods. They grew up that way, as did their parents before them: my family is part of 'pureblood nobility,' but over the years has gotten gradually less and less obsessed with being nobility (when there wasn't any real 'nobility' anymore and we formed our Ministry) instead of the opposite, which is what happened to the Black family. We're about the same class, by the way, but our families never mix, since their folk are the Slytherins and the dark wizards, and our folk (of the Potters, I mean) are generally everything but Slytherins. Mostly Gryffindors, but we'll accept others as well. I think that's a big part of why we don't think so highly of ourselves so as to call ourselves nobility and higher up than all other poorer purebloods or those not of pure blood; the Potters have almost always been in Gryffindor (my mum was in Ravenclaw, but she's only a Potter through marriage, so it's all right). Then again, it could also be that us Potters just aren't as snobby. (And here I go again, being all arrogant after I had just said how immature I was. Sorry.) I meant really compared to the others, especially Sirius' family…. I suppose back then those pureblood parties were how they met each other and found the one they were going to marry, so it just became tradition… You're right, I'm just making excuses. _

_But I'm not like my parents. I have no prejudice against muggle-borns—how could I, when I'm always second to you in practically everything except Quidditch? When you've always been the better one of our year? __When I've loved you for as long as I have? __I'm sorry, you don't want anything like that. It's just, I did fancy you in third year, and fourth year, and even fifth and sixth year, so I don't think you can tell me that I've anything against muggle-borns. And for the wealth stuff, about the Weasleys, I never really hit it off with any of them or anything, the Weasley closest to my age is about seven, so my reason for not defending them is merely that I never liked them all that much. My parents obviously had more of a reason, the reasons I parroted to you in my previous letter, which now that I look back does make me sound snobby and self-righteous. (And I just said that us Potters aren't as snobby.) We're not as bad as some other 'pureblood nobility' but I suppose we're not the best either. You're right, we don't have the perfect of ideals. I'll try to work on that._

_Anyway, house-elves. Yes. Or no. I don't quite know. I've never thought about it, about enslaving them. I mean, now that I think about it, yes, we do actually enslave them. But, at least with my family's house-elves, I never really made them do anything they didn't want to. In my other letter, I mentioned managing to get Poppy up on a broom, but I've never ordered him to do it again, since he's scared of heights. I could, of course, but I never do. My family has the habit of requesting for things instead of ordering them, so they've never done things they don't want to. And, at least for me, even though they call me master, I'm definitely inferior to them. They helped raise me, after all, so they'll say things like 'Master shouldn't have done this,' or 'If master had done this, it would have been better.' They have no problem telling me off or teaching me things, lecturing me or punishing me. I remember when I was little, I didn't understand why they were allowed to do that, and when they gave me a punishment one day while my parents were out for three days (I think I ripped a book up and burned it in the fireplace of the library because I couldn't read one of the words) and I thought it wasn't right of them, for house-elves to give me a punishment when only my parents were allowed to do that, so I punished them instead. My parents were so angry when they got back, __they__ punished me, even worse than Sibby and Poppy's punishment, and my father yelled at me. I was so scared I never did it again, and I definitely always listened to Poppy and Sibby, even when I didn't like it._

_(There, I just asked Poppy if he felt enslaved, and he just told me that 'Poppy likes to serve master and his family. Poppy loves master and master never makes Poppy do what Poppy doesn't want to do, so Poppy does not feel like a slave.')_

_Other families, I suppose, might be crueler to their house-elves. Perhaps those house-elves do wish to be free, and feel unjustly enslaved. It'll be those pureblood manias who think they're better than everyone else, not to mention those who aren't wizards or witches. _

_As for Sirius, he hates Kreature because he follows the same ideals as his family, and he hates his family's ideals. That's all there is, really. And Kreature hates Sirius because he's a 'blood traitor' in his opinion, so they're both mean to each other._

_House-elves are, generally, a mark of an old, rich family like mine or Sirius'; the aforementioned 'pureblood nobility.' They stay within families, and are passed on—it all works exactly like slavery of humans worked before, except the differences would be magic, the house-elves have to obey their master or else punish themselves, and to free them you have to present them with clothes._

_They also work at places like Hogwarts, you know. Who do you think cooks and cleans for us? And how have you never seen one yet? I'll take you down to the kitchens some day, they're great. That is, if you'd want to go with me. Otherwise, well, Remus and Sirius both know where it is. Though, I really would like to go with you—no, this isn't like asking you out or anything like that, just hang out with you some time. We can invite others too. Or just forget about this. Yeah, just—yeah._

_Blimey, I'm writing to you and I still stumble over my words. You have no idea how hard you make this. That doesn't mean I want you to stop writing, though. I've never had to think so hard in any conversation, and I must admit, as hard as it all is, I rather like it._

_Definitely more embarrassed than I'd ever let on,_

_James Potter_

_P.S. You want me to give you my address? Someone will have to meet you to get you through the wards, but it can happen._

_—_

_Potter,_

_I shall reply to you properly some other time. For now, please just let Remus and Sirius go for and afternoon, I'm going to meet them in the Leakey Cauldron. I NEED TO GET OUT OF THE HOUSE I'M GOING ABSOLUTELY MAD._

_Thanks,_

_Lily Evans_

_P.S. We decided to go there instead of your place because Sirius wants to try out his new bike? Should I be worried? He won't tell me anything._

* * *

><p><strong>Uh, yeah I have no idea what I'm doing. I didn't quite now where I was going to end this chapter at, so... I tried. Review? Constructive Criticism would be greatly appreciated.<strong>


	4. Chapter 3

**Wow this took much longer than it should've, considering I haven't been getting any homework that I'm actually doing.**

**Thanks to everyone who read this! And thanks to Abnegation Ravenclaw, LifeIsMoreThanAPrettyFace, and jksavedmylife for following, Thanks so much I'm assuming you'll be the first to read this chapter, feel free to tell me what you want out of this story. Thanks to Abnegation Ravenclaw and WiseGirlRocks too for favouriting (sp?) (Thanks WiseGirlRocks for following me from one fandom to the other, hahaha)**

**And Towards-Infinity-4ever: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH THAT MEANT TO ME! Especially since you said it was good 3 thanks! I'm not quite sure it's good enough, I read some of the ones from there and they are good (well, the ones I read, which is like... three? I only read Marauders era, so...)**

**Well, hope you enjoy this one!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 3<span>

_Evans,_

_Yes, you should be worried. I'm currently trying to stop him. I'll let you figure out why._

_James Potter_

~0~

"I can't believe you, Sirius!" Lily said for the twentieth time. "You're breaking the law!" She hissed under her breath. Remus sighed beside her, having been a good citizen an apparated to the Leakey Cauldron, but had also failed in convincing Sirius to apparate as well. "And you, Remus, you let him!"

"You should know by now that I don't _let_ Padfoot do anything, I simply can't always _stop_ him." Remus replied. "There's a difference."

"Either way, you shouldn't have done it and you're not going back that way at all!" Lily retorted hotly. "Sirius, I'm confiscating that bike! Unless you want to _drive_ all the way back to Potter Manor, that thing is mine."

"You're not in school, you don't have that authority in the real world, and moreover, you don't even know how to work it!"

"I'm a muggle-born, Sirius, I've ridden a motorbike before."

"Really?" Even Remus seemed surprised.

"Of course! Well, I mean," Lily blushed. "There was an old friend of mine from school, we went out two summers ago, and he taught me how to ride his motorcycle, and I'm assuming it's the same."

"You mean…" Sirius furrowed his eyebrows. "You have _muggle_ friends?"

"Really, now? I'm a muggle-born who lives in a muggle town with no wizards or witches nearby except Snape, and you expect me to _not_ have any friends? How do you think I survived elementary school?"

Remus murmured to Sirius about what elementary school was briefly before Sirius answered. "Well if I'm being completely honest, Evans, I thought you were a swot who had no friends." Remus elbowed him. "Ow! In the best way possible, that is."

Lily laughed. "Oh, no, I'm completely different in the muggle world." She informed them. "I'm lazy and unmotivated, I got average grades in school—I probably could've done really well in school, only I never tried—and I focused my entire life on fitting in, making friends, and generally just being well-liked."

"I don't believe you."

"Magic makes everything faster and easier, Sirius. You don't understand, since you grew up with magic, but without it, we have to do all our chores by hand. Get driven to and from school and anywhere you wanted to go—everything has to be done manually, so regular life-style took longer and hanging out and meeting people took time. Plus, once I'd known there was an easier way to do things, I needed to know."

"Well I've done chores by hand! Sort of."

"You had a house-elf, Sirius."

"Yes, but _now_ I do my chores by hand."

"Sirius… Your apartment is a mess, and you basically still live with the Potters."

"Whose side are you on, Moony?"

"The one that's right."

"Speaking of right and wrong, Sirius, what you did is still terrible and you shouldn't have done it. Hand over the keys now."

"No."

"Pads, just hand over the keys. We can apparate back."

"Moony, you are a terrible friend."

"Actually, he's trying to make sure you don't get into too much trouble. I'd say a better friend than you're aware of."

"Besides, you can always just get it back later. Or how about you send it off to Potter Manor now, and apparate back with me later."

"But what is the point of having a motorbike if you're not going to use it?"

"You can, just use it properly!"

"I am! I gave it the function to fly, and so its proper use is to fly!"

"Keep your voice down, Padfoot!"

"Its proper use is to _drive_, Sirius—Ugh!" Lily threw her hands up into the air. "You know I asked to meet you two out here because I couldn't stand Petunia and all her looks, all the arguments we got ourselves into, and all the wedding planning! And you two are helping me no less than she was!"

"Oi! We're not talking about marriages! I'd say we're plenty better than her!"

"First, that's grammatically incorrect, I don't know what goes through your head when you speak, and second, I meant making me angry!"

"Padfoot, just drop it. Lily, we're sorry. I'll make sure he gets back without flying the bike. Now, let's put that behind us and discuss something less aggravating."

"You're right, Moony. Besides, it's Prong's job to get Lily all riled up."

"Just because I'm friends with you two and wrote a few civil letters to Potter does not mean you're allowed to make comments like that about us."

"Right. These 'civil letters'…"

"What about them?"

"Why the change of heart?"

"I needed someone to listen, and I guess… He was there."

"We were willing to listen too, Lily."

"I know that, Remus, but you've listened to my problems, to me rant and talk about Petunia and Severus. You understand already. I guess I just wanted a different perspective. Plus, I wanted to talk to someone who didn't seem to have family problems—no offence, you two."

"Why would we take offence? I definitely have family issues. Remus doesn't _quite_ have family problems, but—"

"My problems are enough to be categorised under every type of problem possible, including family ones."

"Yes, I suppose. Anyway, it turns out that Potter is simply _dying_ to have family problems. Went crying to me about—Hang on, did he read our letters to you?"

"No, wouldn't let us, don't let your knickers get into a twist."

"Sirius, that expression is simply vulgar. And I was just wondering, because I wanted to know if he's changed at all, to you two."

"No… Why?"

"It's just, his letters have been less and less… conceited, I suppose."

"That's because you don't like it when he's conceited."

"Which is really funny, because I'm always arrogant and you love me."

"I'm not going to respond to that, Sirius. But I'd been hoping that maybe… Y'know, that he'd actually changed, been less arrogant."

"He's always been more arrogant around you Lily, so maybe less arrogant to you is just regular James to us."

"And anyway, when he's talking to me, there's nothing for him to be arrogant about, eh, Lily-flower?"

"So nothing at all? No change?"

"Ah, don't look so down, love, I'm sure you'll inspire him to change eventually. Just keep at it."

"Although, now that you mention it, he did ask me about being a half-blood or something like that. My dad being a muggle-born, I mean. And he did ask me what I thought about all our Maraudering."

"He never did any of that with me!"

"That's because I'm the mature one of the four of us."

"I'm assuming I'm not part of the four, since I must say, I believe I'm more mature than the three of you, four if you count Peter."

"Well, I'd be offended, but you're probably right. I did take part in at least half of the pranks."

"Hold up, back to the topic at hand, _James went to you asking you about blood status and pranks_?"

"Not _exactly_, more like he wanted to know if he was really that close-minded and blind about the prejudices and hardships others had to go through."

"And the answer was very, I suppose?"

"Don't be like that, Lily, he's aware but doesn't understand. You should give him credit for trying, at least."

"Why didn't he come to me?"

"Because you'd be even worse than him if you weren't born with your blood status shoved into your face, or if you had no other reason for pranks aside from 'it's fun.'"

"Prongs does too!"

"He does? Do enlighten me, Sirius, why does Potter play pranks?"

"Well… Because he thinks that's what his dad did, and he's always wanted to be exactly like his dad, if not better. And also because I want to."

"Humph."

"Sirius, I think you're doing more harm than good. And anyway, Lily, I do think he left our conversation with more knowledge and understanding than before."

"Yes, he seemed to reflect more upon his actions in his letters to me. Sirius, I do believe you're a bad influence on Potter. Perhaps Remus and I together will finally be able to undo whatever you instilled into his mind. Everyone knows Remus alone was not enough. No offence."

"None taken, it's true."

"I'll have you know that I'm not that bad of an influence! Without me James would not have hated Slytherins as much, been as motivated to beat me in classes, or understood that you don't have to follow in your parent's footsteps."

"The last one I will say is pretty good, if only it'd worked a bit better, and the second one, although also good, I think would have happened anyway because Remus and I exist to motivate him, and the first one is just despicable."

"Padfoot, you're a bad influence. Just admit it."

"Fine! But I'm still his best mate and he still cares about me more than you!"

"Are you talking to me or Lily?"

"Erm… Well I was referring to both of you, but now that I think about it, just you, Moony."

"Right, because if you were talking to Lily I'd just remind you that it's Lily Evans, the girl Prongs has been madly in love with for the last—"

"He has _not_ been madly in love with me, _please_. Potter's not capable of that strong of an emotion, he'd be too overwhelmed."

"Why else do you think he acts like a git around you? Because he's so overwhelmed he doesn't know how else to act, the poor fool."

"Yes, well, that's all very charming, but I think Potter and I will be able to manage being friendly acquaintances, or at least civil to each other now. That means he won't ever ask me out or flirt with me again, and I must admit, I'm looking forward to this year."

"He was serious about that, wasn't he, Moony?"

"Very serious, actually. I think his exact words were 'she wants me to get over her, then I will.'"

"Perfect! Set him up with Amelia from Ravenclaw, will you? She's been eyeing him for a while now, hopefully it'll last throughout the summer."

"She's not pretty enough."

"Really? He's not that shallow, is he? She's a terrific witch."

"No, he's not, but I am. I will only set him up with someone both pretty and talented."

"Just like you can only have the perfect girl?"

"Yes, exactly."

"But how about an imperfect boy who's just perfect for _you_?"

"Oh, come off it, Lily, it's gotten so old now with James mentioning it every other day, I simply cannot deal with being matched with Sirius again."

"Who said I was matching him with you? You're being a bit presumptuous, Remus."

"Perhaps we can set him up with Smith, she's fit."

"Yes Padfoot, but she's as dumb as a doorknob."

"Honestly, is this how you talk about girls?"

"Yes."

"Isn't that how you talk about guys?"

"Well, yes, but it's different for us."

"Why?"

"Because we put more importance over other stuff aside from just two character traits."

"So do we, it's just that at first glance, those two have to be adequate before we focus on other stuff. Take you, Lily-flower, for example. You're pretty and you're top of the class, which is why Prongs even looked twice. If I'd looked twice—which I didn't because James did—I'd have seen your temper and your annoying-ness and swottiness and decided you weren't worth it. Prongs, however, seems to think it's endearing or something like that."

"I'm glad to know."

"I thought we'd agreed to help Prongs, Padfoot."

"Let's not talk about Potter. I'd rather talk as if we didn't have any problems. Let's go to Diagon Alley and shop or something."

"Splendid idea, Lily. Let me just send Padfoot's motorbike back to Potter Manor."

"Hey!"

Lily laughed at Sirius' face and he threw his arm around her, grinning. She pretended not to notice the look he and Remus shared, one that clearly said, _good job, she's happy now_. She wasn't going to let anyone ruin her day.

~0~

_Dear Potter,_

_I feel like Remus' reason for 'being a swot' is actually better than mine. He might not have told you, but he tries hard because he knows that Prof. Dumbledore is risking his own credibility by letting him into the school, so wants to prove to everyone that he'd chosen correctly. He feels that the least he can do for Dumbledore is to do well in school. Even more so when he was made Prefect._

_I seriously doubt I'll do something great enough to forever be on the history books, although it is an aspiration of mine. It's nice too, to have your vote of confidence. I'd say it isn't worth much, but it actually is, as long as you're being genuine. I very much hope you are. In fact, aside from Slughorn, I think you're the only one who's ever said I could make it. Straight-up, I mean. Others have mentioned that I'm a good witch, or smart and hard-working, but never said I could actually do something amazing with my life._

_I asked Sirius and Remus yesterday if they thought you changed. I'd hoped that maybe you had, since you said my questions made you think and all that. They said you didn't, and then Remus mentioned that you _did_ give some thought to it all. I suppose that's all I can ask for. I do hope you change for the better, though. Perhaps then we can be friends, real ones. What we are now doesn't seem to count. It's more like you're a confidant that I won't be caught dead with outside of our letters. But you do sound like you've matured, so if it's true, then that'd be nice._

_I feel like I just broke a barrier here. As if we've just met, instead of known each other for years, and are finally deciding to trust each other—except with us, everything's reversed. Oh well._

_I'll try not to say anything about your pureblood problem. Maybe you'll get better. Maybe you already are. Maybe you aren't and you never will. No one's perfect, and you're already trying to change. At least you're more aware now, right?_

_I suppose there's not much I can say about house-elves, either, since I don't want to sound too condescending. (Look at me, trying not to talk to you with contempt! Perhaps we're both changing) But I would like to meet one. When we get to Hogwarts, you guys have to take me. I'll demand it of you. And of course, it will not be a date because I don't fancy you and that'd be cruel of me. I firmly believe that a relationship ought to have two equal and willing people who are at a mutual understanding of where their relationship lies. Communication is the key, which is why I'm telling you all this about where _our_ relationship, or lack thereof, lies. I hope I didn't hurt your feelings._

_I'm definitely changing! A month ago I wouldn't have even cared about your feelings, and yet now I'm telling you I do._

_Sincerely, because I really am sincere,_

_Lily_

_P.S. Thanks for nothing, I had an argument with Sirius about his bike._

_—_

_Dear Lily,_

_I don't know whether to be happy or sad that you said we could be friends if I changed for the better. I'm determined to do so, although now I've figured out that it's much easier said than done._

_Sirius is moving out tomorrow (for good this time, he's taking all his stuff), and Moony is heading back to his parents later today. (He's sort of mad at me for taking the time to respond to you instead of spend time with him before he leaves, but he'll live.) I'm sort of glad for it, actually. Never thought I'd ever say that I was happy to be alone in the house—well, not quite, since my parents are still around—but it's true. I found that Sirius was definitely hindering me in my changes. Kept looking at me like I was crazy and asking me what was in my drink this morning._

_Remus is helping, though, and I am sad he's leaving (don't tell Padfoot), since he's been very supportive in my transformation. (oops, that's a bad word to use.) Keep an eye out for him, will you? With Padfoot living by himself for the first time, and me helping him out, we'll be a bit too busy to watch over him properly, but I don't think he's quite over the Incident. He pretends he is, but I don't think he is completely._

_However, when not over at Sirius' house or Remus' or when either are at my place, I'm going to be completely bored. What do you do when you're bored, aside from study? I think I've read everything in our library already, and one can only play Quidditch by himself for so long. I was often bored, before Sirius moved in, and now that he's moving out, I feel like the cycle will continue. Keep with your letters, will you? And if you ever want, come over, you'll always be welcome. I'm inviting you now so that I don't sound deranged and desperate for human attention._

_Speaking of human attention (don't ask), please also keep an eye on Sirius? He's never lived by himself before, and I'm worried. He might need a woman's… touch. I'm a bit afraid, to be honest, that he'll blow himself up trying to cook… pasta or whatever. Eggs, even. Which is easier to make? Poppy says pasta is easier, but takes longer. Okay, sure, Poppy._

_I really have to go, sorry. Moony is yelling at me, and I think Sirius is trying to pack the bed._

_Awaiting your reply,_

_James_

_P.S. You should know by now that no one can talk Sirius out of doing something once he's put his mind to it._

_—_

_Dear James,_

_I think I stared at your name for thirty seconds straight. It feels weird even penning your first name. Although, I suppose if we want some change, I'll have to call the new you 'James' and not 'Potter'. I'd say it was weird to be called Lily by you, but to be perfectly honest, it wasn't. I hadn't even noticed you'd used my first name until after I'd written yours._

_I feel so strange, as if names are really deciding factors of our life. "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" or something like that, right? And yet… Names do mean things. I was so adamant about never calling you James, for reasons I can't fathom, and now that I have I'm making such a big fuss about it. I'm being silly, aren't I?_

_I find that after being in Hogwarts, having four roommates and everything like that, it's sort of refreshing to have my own room again. I suppose it's like that for you too, with Sirius. After all, he really makes himself known and takes up space. With him gone, I'd be very aware of how alone I was, whether or not I were lonely. Although I suppose bored is a good word for it, too. I read, but you've already vetoed that. Honestly? Try getting to know your parents better. Talk to them, tell them all your problems and all your achievements. Remus might be supportive and helpful in your changing, Sirius not at all, but your parents are your parents. Especially since you're an only child and they've retired, they have nothing else to do with their lives but help make yours better. I'm sure if you just reached out to them, they'd understand and help you. Parents are supposed to know you better than anyone._

_Of course, I suppose I'm not one to talk much about parents. I still haven't talked to mine properly about my issues with Petunia, or Severus. Whenever I talk to them, it's always about magic, about the wizarding world and all the things I learned at school. They know about my friends, of course, but not all that much. I've never been the most open about friends, though, at least not with my parents. It's like, I'm closer to my dad, but I can't very well talk to him about girl problems, now can I?_

_To jump to another topic, yes, I'll definitely keep an eye out for both Sirius and Remus. I understand how taxing this summer is for everyone, with all the changes and the war getting worse and worse every day. I can barely read the paper now, but have to, just to make sure that at least Marlene's okay and everyone else. It's gotten better now—or worse, depending on how you see it—the obituary page barely says anything, and the _Prophet_ just glances over the war information. I don't know if that's good or bad._

_Aside from the war, though, Sirius is definitely going to need some help settling in and everything. Remus mentioned that his apartment is a mess, and I figure that, having lived with house-elves, he has no idea how to maintain a house or do any chores, with or without magic. Also, he might try to take advantage of having a whole apartment to himself, and I suppose I'll have to remind him to be responsible and a gentleman, since you Marauders won't be of any help. Was that what you were referring to when you said 'woman's touch'? (Or perhaps 'human attention'?)_

_And Remus will only get worse, I'm afraid. Next year's our last year in Hogwarts, and after that he has nearly no prospects whatsoever. And definitely none for his qualifications. I mean, you and I actually have a chance of getting into Auror training, or whatever it is we'll want, but Remus won't get the time of day. We'll have to be there for him, remind him that what really matters are friends and family. We'll need lots of laughs this year, James. Proper ones, ones at no one's expense. I'd like you to change, but I'd still like you to make people laugh. Do you think you and the Marauders can do that?_

_Still think this is a bit strange,_

_Lily_

_P.S. Yes, but I'm still angry at you and Sirius for it. I have no doubt that you half-encouraged him._

_—_**thereneedstobeatimechangethingybecauseweneedtoskiptothelatterhalfofthesummer**_—_

_Dear Lily,_

_Can you believe that it's been more than a month in which we've been corresponding? There is an enormous stack of papers all from you, and I was feeling nostalgic (alright, bored) today and decided to read them all._

_You used to call me Potter like you'd never dream of calling me James. And I used to call you Evans just as adamantly. I was an arrogant git in my first few letters, its a wonder we even became friends—we are that, now, right? And I have gotten better? I must have, or else you'd have stopped talking to me long ago and I wouldn't have noticed how annoying I'd been back then. Funny how much you can change in just a few weeks. (when all you have to do is sit around and work on changing…I blame Padfoot, but I blame him for everything.)_

_It's also a wonder that we haven't run out of things to say. Some of my letters with Peter are so short, I wonder why I even bother. I know about half as much about him as I do about you, and yet I still feel like there is so much for me to learn about you._

_How was Petunia today? The parents laughed at me today for telling them I was bored and asking if they wanted to play Quidditch with me. I suppose it was a silly idea, but what can I say? I think it's only your letters and the occasional company from Padfoot and Moony that keep me sane. I can't believe I once wanted Sirius gone. (Which I would have denied except for the fact that I wrote it to you, and I've never lied to you in a letter before.)_

_So, that was my day so far: being laughed at by my parents for being bored out of my mind, reading our letters, which, before you get all confused, I copied to see hidden meanings behind our back-and-forth and then later just became a habit. Yes, you can laugh now. What can I say? I was horribly in love with you._

_Bored to the point of death,_

_James_

_P.S. Have you gotten your letter yet? It usually gets here end of July, early August, but it isn't here yet and we're almost half-way through August. I'm a bit worried._

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><p><strong>I think I realised that I made a grievous mistake in writing this. This is going to take me another year, won't it? And if you're one of those people who followed me for the sake of Moving On, well, you probably really hate me right now because I'm not really writing it... at all... I said I'd start... and then I forgot again... :) Sorry<strong>

**Well, tell me what you think! I personally think that I suck at character development, so any advice you guys might have would be REALLY appreciated! Or like, if you favourite it or follow it, just a little note about what I might be doing right would be nice. :)**


	5. Chapter 4

Lily got James' letter the same time she got her Hogwarts one. She had been a little worried when it didn't come when it usually did, two weeks earlier into the summer. Of course, she figured that there might be security measures that Dumbledore had to go through, or maybe he didn't get a DADA teacher until later than usual. But it felt like a load had gotten off her back when she saw the owl fly in with a Hogwarts seal on the letter it carried.

She opened the Hogwarts one first, because she knew James' might be long and would require time to write back, and she wanted to plan a trip to Diagon Alley as soon as she could if she needed new school supplies.

She thought she might need new ones, because she'd never gotten a letter as thick as this one. Something nagged at the back of her mind as to what it might be, but she pushed it away. She didn't want to assume or get high hopes over nothing.

But when the Head Girl badge fell into her open palm, she couldn't make herself surprised in any way. Only very, very happy.

"Mum! Dad!" She shouted. "I'm Head Girl!" Normally, she'd get reprimanded for yelling while the people she was yelling to were in the same room as her, but her mother's angry face changed as she heard the words 'Head Girl.'

That day, Petunia was very put out when she came over to plan the wedding and learned that Lily had taken over the day.

Once the excitement had died down and her mother had finally been dragged off by Petunia, Lily set about reading the letter that had come with it.

_Dear Ms. Evans,_ _I am proud to inform you that—_she skipped ahead. —_along with James Potter as Head Boy—_she skipped ahead again, then her eyes sprang back up to the words 'James Potter.' No. It couldn't be! But—she raced back up to her room, tearing open his letter and scanning it for any word about being Head Boy, but he had sent it before getting his Hogwarts letter. She dropped it, rummaging through her stuff to find a letter he had sent her with his address on it. She had apparated before she had time to close her eyes.

Too late, she realised that she had no way of getting through the wards. Nevertheless, she decided to simply walk along the road until she reached Potter Manor.

The house, if she were to even call it that, was the biggest one she had ever seen. The front door was at least as big as those of Hogwarts, and for a few seconds she simply stared at the big double doors, certain that this wasn't someone's _home_, it was a community center of some sort, surely it didn't house only three people and a house-elf. Blimey, did Poppy have to clean _that entire thing_?

Finally, she snapped out of her stupor and pulled on the rope beside the door. Almost immediately, the door opened to reveal… no one. Was the door magicked to open automatically?

"Hello, miss!" A squeaky voice forced her eyes downward, and Lily saw the cutest creature she had ever seen since first being incorporated into the wizarding world.

"You must be Poppy!" She realised. "I'm Lily Evans." She stuck her hand out, kneeling down slightly so that the house-elf could reach her. Poppy bowed.

"House-elfs don't shake hands, Ms. Evans." He said as he straightened. "We bow to our masters and our masters' friends."

"Oh." Lily retracted her hand, standing up.

"Please, come in." Poppy stepped aside, opening the door wider, and Lily found herself in a vast hallway with portraits lining the walls. Just typical nobility portraits, only they moved. She could see them whispering to each other, sneaking glances at her.

"Master James didn't tell Poppy that miss Lily was coming today." Poppy said as he walked down the hall, Lily following.

"Oh, I wasn't going to… It's a surprise." She replied lamely.

"Master James would love that!" Poppy's ears perked up at the thought. "Master James loves surprises, he does. Always trying to surprise Poppy and Master and Mistress Potter. But today Master James has had enough surprises, Poppy thinks." _Do they always refer to themselves in the third person?_ Lily wondered vaguely.

"Why is that, Poppy?" She asked.

"Because Master James has got his letter now, and is Head Boy. Master and Mistress Potter are overjoyed, they are, but Master James and Master Sirius are very devastated."

"I can imagine."

"But Master James must have known Miss was coming, or else Poppy would have had to find Miss wandering around outside the grounds because of the wards. It is very hard to get through wards that Master and Mistress Potter put up."

"Huh. No, he must've done that before, for any time I just decided to pop in."

"Yes. Master James is thoughtful that way." Lily tried not to laugh at the thought of James being _thoughtful, _but then again, he did suggest that Poppy knew him better than anyone. If he thought of James as thoughtful, then he probably was, somewhere deep inside.

"Here we are, Miss Evans." Poppy stopped in front of a nondescript door, knocking once before entering. He was too short to turn the knob, but it turned when he pushed against the door anyway, letting them in. "Masters and Mistresses, Miss Lily Evans has arrived." He announced.

"WHAT?!" Lily wasn't sure which of the men in front of her said it, or who was more surprised, but she did know that the one woman in the room was the only one who looked amused, a facial expression Lily quickly realised James had gotten from her.

"Lily?" James asked, clearly shocked.

"How'd she get in?" The older man, clearly Mr. Potter, looked pointedly at his son.

"Oh. Um. We thought just in case she would want to come…" James' hand was in his hair, and Lily felt a rush of annoyance, just as she always did, at the bad habit. James glanced at her uncertainly, seemed to see her frown, and his hand shot down. "Yeah. Should've told you?" He tried.

"This is Lily Evans, then?" Mrs. Potter stood, hands on hips, appraising Lily. She resisted the urge to cross her arms to cover herself up—she was dressed modestly enough, but somehow she knew that there was nothing she could do to seem good enough to Mrs. Potter. Not that it really mattered, she just liked to be liked by adults.

"Yes, mum, this is Lily. Lily, this is my mother, my father, and Sirius you already know. That's Poppy, too, but I'm sure you know each other enough by now." He grinned at her and winked at Poppy, who piped up a quick 'yes, master James.'

Lily stuck out her hand, a greeting and "pleasure to meet you" on the tip of her tongue, but Mrs. Potter regarded her hand with distaste before saying, quite simply, "No, no, it is not smart to shake the hand of a stranger." She said primly. "If you cannot trust them completely, you do not allow them to touch you."

"Mum!" James groaned. "That's so old already! Everyone shakes hands now, no one shakes hands with those not introduced properly, and you benefit more from being able to touch them than otherwise. As long as you're aware of the implications and the possibilities the other person can do! Even dad agrees with me, right dad?"

"What does Moody say about it?"

"I don't know what your star student says about it, it's not like I converse with him daily, and certainly not about his stand on shaking hands. But it's not as if anyone will want to shake his hand, so it doesn't really matter, now, does it? Look, Evans can be trusted. Can you please not give her a hard time?"

"It's alright." Lily quickly said, having stuck her hand deep in her pocket at Mrs. Potter's words. "I understand. It must be a shock, me coming here uninvited and everything. And nowadays, you can never be too careful."

Mrs. Potter nodded. "And what are you doing here, girl?"

"Mum." James hissed, but both women ignored him.

"Well, I just got my Hogwarts letter, and I suppose I needed to make sure that James… really was the Head Boy. I'm Head Girl, you see, and…" Lily trailed off, unsure whether to voice her opinions of James' behaviour at school, whether Mrs. Potter knew about them or not.

"What, is it unbelievable that my son is Head Boy?"

"Just not who I thought it'd be, that's all."

"So you'd assumed you would be the Head Girl, is that it?"

"I am top of my class, but that's not why I thought it wouldn't be James, it's because he wasn't even a Prefect." Lily shot a pointed look at James, who had his head buried in his hands, then a glare at Sirius, who looked like he was suppressing laughter and succeeding instead to simply look constipated and amused.

Suddenly, Mrs. Potter's serious mask broke as she grinned. "I like her." She declared. "James, you'll do well to learn a thing or two from her. Good thing you're Head Girl, Miss Evans, we all know my son will need proper guidance this year about how to be properly responsible. Now, Poppy, why don't you make some snacks and tea for the children, let them spend some time together. James, we'll be in the library." With that, Mrs. Potter walked out of the room.

Mr. Potter stayed a bit longer, shaking Lily's hand and apologising for his wife's behaviour. "She's always been the more cautious one, which is funny, because I was the auror. I suppose being around sick and injured people put things into perspective for her." He smiled kindly at Lily. "That, and we've heard a lot about you, dear, and we want to make sure you're everything that boy over there promised us. Well, I'd probably best get over to the library before she decides to kill me for tardiness!" Mr. Potter chuckled a bit and followed his wife out the door.

"Lily, I'm so sorry." James said as the door shut, finally raising his head.

"Hold on, since when has it been 'Lily' and 'James' to you two?" Sirius asked, genuinely confused.

"Oh, I know this!" James thought for a second before announcing, "three weeks ago." He turned to Lily. "Did you get my letter? I spent all of yesterday reading our past letters due to utter boredom. Should've known today'd be absolutely different." James groaned again. "This day has been terrible."

"Not really." Lily teased. "I've had a wonderful day."

"Of course you did. Probably going mad, when your letter didn't get to you when it usually does."

"Was not!"

"Alright, I'm being completely serious—both Sirius'—_what is up with you two_?!" Sirius finally seemed to have regained from his confusion, replacing it with anger.

"We became sort-of friends. Friendly." Lily replied with a grin, walking over to the couch and sitting beside James. He mirrored her smile, raising his eyebrows at his best friend's face.

"You alright, Padfoot?" He teased.

"I'm still trying to process this. Is this about that major change you said I was hindering or whatever?"

"Yup." James said, and Lily laughed, getting up again to wrap her arms around Sirius.

"Don't worry, Sirius, I still love you." She cooed, missing James' face behind her. Sirius, however, merely smirked at his friend.

"As long as you love me more than him, there's nothing else I can ask for." He replied dramatically, and the two of them collapsed in a fit of laughter. "Prongs!" He said in between gasps. "You—should—see—your—face!" Lily glanced over at James, whose face had changed from obvious jealousy to a scowl just in time.

"Aw, James, we're only joking." She said, sitting beside him again. "Don't worry, I'll never _ever _fall in love with Sirius. And if we do go out, you'll be the first to know." She paused. "Well, maybe the second. We might tell Remus or Marlene or Alice or even Peter first, but you'll be one of the first to know."

"Or we'll never tell you at all, and I might live long enough to break up with her and make it seem like it never happened before." Sirius corrected. He flopped onto the couch beside Lily, casually slinging his arm around her and ignoring James' glare.

"Alright, so spill, both of you. What happened after James got his letter?" Lily asked, smirking at James. "What was your face when you saw your badge?"

"I don't know about my face, but I know I yelled, dropped it onto the kitchen table, and flooed Sirius right away. I thought it was a prank, you see."

"But I was just as shocked as he was, I wanted to go straight to Dumbledore and tell him he made a mistake, but then James saw his name on the paper and yours and Mr. and Mrs. Potter came down and we figured it wasn't a mistake at all, Dumbledore had simply gone mad."

"He spent the rest of the day making fun of me and trying to figure out what I'd done to Dumbledore."

"Current hypothesis is the Imperius curse."

"You're both idiots." Lily announced. "Dumbledore is the smartest wizard currently alive, he must have calculated that James would change this summer, become a better person. And frankly, I think you'll do wonderfully as Head Boy, if you work to do well and not abuse your power."

"Right. James Potter, Head Boy." Sirius barked out a laugh, punching James lightly with the hand he had around Lily. James grumbled.

"Poppy thinks that Master James will be a very good Head Boy, Master Sirius." Poppy said as he walked in, tea sets and snacks floating behind him. "Master James is a very good boy."

"Not in school." Lily said with a giggle. "But if you think he's a good boy, then maybe he is."

"Don't make fun of him." James hissed in her ear "He won't get it, but I will, trust me." There was something dark in the way James said it, and Lily flashed him a sheepish grin.

"Sorry." She said uncertainly. "And I wasn't making fun of him. Just… He raised you, didn't he? Shouldn't he know you better than anyone else?"

"Not all house-elves are seen like that, is all."

"Oi, it's rude to whisper at the tea table, didn't your mums teach you that?" Sirius said loudly. "Unless, of course, it's lovesick poetry, then by all means, keep it between the two of you, I'd like to eat and keep my food down."

"Where's Remus?" Lily asked, changing the subject. "I'd like to see him again."

"Thought he'd be a bit of a downer today, to be honest." James replied. "Didn't really want to… remind him." Poppy had finished setting up the table and bowed out of the room.

"He'll be even sadder to know that we didn't invite him."

"I got it." Sirius sprang up, moving over to the fireplace. With a roar of green fire, he was gone.

"Er…" James said awkwardly in the few seconds of silence after Sirius had gone.

Lily debated whether to show her own feelings of awkwardness, or to simply pretend to be more confident than she felt. She decided on the latter.

"Are you going to serve me tea, or do I have to?" She asked with a grin. "No need to act all strange on me. You seemed perfectly normal in your letters, are you secretly mad or something?"

"Very funny, Evans." James reached over to serve her tea. "How are you, by the way? We kept talking about me, what did your parents say when you told them you were Head Girl? Or better yet, how did Petunia act when she found out?"

Sirius and Remus found them laughing over tea and so different from the last time they'd seen the two together, Remus' mouth actually dropped open for a few seconds. Lily went home with a smile on her face, an agreement to go shopping in Diagon Alley the next day and to do 'Head's stuff,' as James called it, within the two weeks before school started, and when she got an earful that night by her parents for disappearing on them, she decided that she wouldn't have changed anything that day.

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><p><strong>Yeah. So... Review. Please. This is important to me. Please Review.<strong>


	6. Chapter 5

**To say I forgot about this story would be an understatement. I didn't realise it'd existed.**

**Thanks to everyone who favourited and followed and reviewed, they meant so much to me (but I'm supposed to do my hw right now so I don't have time to write down a proper thank you to everyone, just know that I love you all)**

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><p><span>Part two: The Art of Seduction<span>

Or, seventh year brings about many new perspectives

Chapter five

Peter was going to kill them all. Best friends, they called each other. Marauders, the masters of the school, greatest wizards of their age, animagi at 15, who knew more about the school than anyone else alive. And above all else, loyal to one another, never throwing one another under the bus, always best friends; family.

And then they just conveniently decided to forget the _small_ detail of James being Head Boy. And being on speaking terms with Evans. Better speaking terms than Peter was with Evans. Of course, he was alright with not being the first told, and he understood why they didn't owl him, but he'd been home during the holidays for three days before September 1st, and he didn't get a single word from them, about anything.

No, instead of knowing about it beforehand, he had to arrive at their usual meeting spot on Platform nine-and-three-quarters and given a quick hug and hello by a harried James Potter before he ran off, pulled by Lily into the train as she yelled to Sirius and Marlene to save her and James a seat.

At least Alice looked pretty shocked, too.

"Does this mean we have to share a compartment with them?" She demanded, turning to Marlene. (Peter decided not to take offence in that statement.) "Does she suddenly expect to come into our compartment to see us jolly good friends just because she's decided to be all chummy with '_James_'?"

"Ah, don't think too much on it, Mrs. Longbottom," Sirius declared, throwing his arm around her, "I seem to recall having your company last train ride, and you ignored me completely." (Peter briefly wondered at his being just so _suave_, but then again he'd always been suave, so he soon forgot about it.)

"I'm not Mrs. Longbottom," Was Alice's smart reply as she extracted herself from Sirius' hold. (Peter didn't believe _that_.) "And I'm going to ignore you this time as well." (But he did believe _that_.)

"Won't be so easy, Longbottom, since you don't have Frank there this time to distract you from my irresistible charm." Sirius teased. Alice kept to her word and ignored him as they headed onto the train. (Peter figured it was just as well.)

"Marlene, did you know of this?" She asked her friend instead. (Peter hoped she hadn't, and then maybe they could be angry at their mates together with Alice.)

"Of what?"

"Everything!"

"Oh, you mean Lily being Head Girl and her and James being friends? She mentioned it in her letters to me—you know how encrypted they have to be, so I didn't quite get the Head Girl thing, I just assumed and from the assumption figured out what she meant in her letters, but on the part of Potter she was quite open about it. Apparently her sister, getting married, drove her mad to the point of writing letters to him."

"So we'll just see this as poor judgement on her part, and assume she'll come to her senses soon?"

"No, my dear Mrs. Longbottom," Sirius interrupted, loudly speaking over Marlene, "She says that Prongs has fully changed for the better, and they've actually become quite good friends." (Peter had a hard time believing his ears, but then again, Evans did have good judgement, and why would they all lie? Surely not simply to play a prank on _him _and_ Alice._)

"I must admit he's right, Alice, she seemed pretty good friends with him in her letters." Marlene admitted.

"And here we are, ladies." Sirius declared, opening their usual compartment and walking in, waving his wand expertly and magicking all their suitcases up—Peter saw Moony's suitcase go up too, and gathered that his friends had made up and one was already in the Prefect's compartment.

With a disgruntled look and a few low mutterings to her friend, Alice walked inside and set herself down beside the window—Peter's usual spot. He stood for a few seconds, unsure of what to do, before simply sitting down by the door, which was usually James or Sirius' spot, but he was sure they wouldn't mind. Then again, it seemed like he didn't know them all that well anymore.

Sirius kept the conversation going, almost single-handedly, with the occasional response from Marlene and a snide comment from Alice. Peter tried to help him out, but found himself uncertain over what could be said around them and what couldn't.

It felt like days, sitting there by the door, looking for the approach of Remus or James and keeping one ear on Sirus' one-sided conversation with the girls—currently about the possible couples in this coming year (It didn't go unnoticed by Peter that James and Lily were not mentioned.)—but finally, Peter saw Remus making his way down the train.

"You should have been there!" He exclaimed as he came in. "Everyone was so shocked at seeing James there, some Slytherins actually threatened to leave, until he set them in his place."

"Lily was brilliant." James announced, bursting in behind Remus (Peter felt a bit of a shock at hearing him say Evans' first name), "She showed them, she did. Those Slytherins hated the Head boy and girl choices, but she showed them."

"You did a lot too, James." Evans replied, closing the compartment door behind her and settling herself down beside Sirius, who slung his arm casually around her shoulders. Remus, a bit confused with the new seating arrangements, sat down beside Marlene as James made his place beside Lily.

"So what _did_ happen?" Marlene asked eagerly, seeming to think nothing of the seating arrangements. (Alice, on the other hand, Peter noticed, looked a bit pale with shock.)

"Well some people wanted to leave, others demanded an explanation, we gave them the truth." Lily shrugged. "And I might have yelled at them a bit for being pureblood fanatics, but in the end we all agreed that we're all here, ultimately, to help the school and while we're working for the school we might as well work together, but once out of school we can try to kill each other all we like."

"That was sort of Lily's point of view, though," Remus cut in, "I'd wager the Slytherins would rather kill her now and get it over with, but she's pretty intimidating and definitely, especially with all us Gryffindors backing her up, able to beat them in a proper duel, or at least a fair fight." Peter winced at the thought of anyone getting into a fight such as this, since many people would get injured or worse, and if any one of them got hurt—Peter pushed away the thought.

"We could do something before they try anything." Sirius suggested.

"Or we could just threaten them to the point where they won't try to do anything." James corrected, calling over Lily's head in a way that was so casual Peter wondered how many times they'd done it. "And then pull through with the threat if they _did_ end up doing something." He glanced at Lily at this, as if to ask her if that was acceptable.

"I think we're good so far." Was her response. "Anyway, enough about earlier today; how were your summers?" This was directed at her girlfriends and (or at least Peter thought) at Peter. It was obvious she and the other three Marauders had spent most of their summer together.

"Great." Marlene deadpanned. "I was stuck in a house, fearful for my life and those of my family, trying to stay calm and practicing as much DADA as I could."

"France was great," Alice offered tentatively. "We stayed mostly in Paris, and I improved my French."

James made an exclamation and said something in French, of which Peter could not understand. Alice responded likewise, and Sirius joined the conversation.

"Have you any idea what they're saying?" Marlene stage-whispered, leaning over to him and Remus.

"Bits and pieces." Remus replied. "Not enough to understand everything, nor to be a part of the conversation, but they're talking about pureblood families forcing them to learn French, or something like that."

"Alright, enough." Lily demanded after a few minutes. "You can lament about your sad, rich, pureblood families in English, thank you very much."

"You understand French?" James asked, surprised.

"Yes, my dad's part French and his side of the family sometimes speak French." Lily replied. "I assumed that you were talking about purebloods, though, _that's_ not in my vocabulary." There was some pointed way she said that last sentence, and James looked slightly guilty. (Peter marvelled in the fact that _anyone _could make James feel guilty.)

"I'd say that's a blessing, for you." Sirius declared a bit too insensitively, but Peter, who saw everything related to Sirius and James, noticed the way Sirius squeezed her shoulder with the arm still across her shoulders, and saw James' hand lightly touch hers. Had they become such good friends as to communicate with body language in the way that had taken Peter an entire year to do with these same people?

The subject changed again, Peter as silent as before, if not more, as Sirius and James stole away most of the conversation, and it revolved almost solely around their new favourite person: Lily Evans. (It didn't help that the short conversation in French opened Alice up to talking more and now Peter was the only one who felt a bit out of the loop.)

It crossed Peter's mind that Lily had been the one to bring the the three Marauders back together, that she had been the glue for them. He felt a pang of jealousy as he realised that _he_ should've been the glue, by not being directly part of the Incident, but they had resulted instead in an outsider—true, it was Lily Evans, who wasn't _really_ an outsider, but still was not a Marauder—and because of his lack of interest in his best friends, he had lost his seat at James' left hand, given up instead to a fiery girl with brains and an attitude Peter could only hope to have half of.

~0~

Lily Evans hated rumours. In Hogwarts, of course, gossip was almost as important as passing a class or having the proper friends. There were some good things with regards to the rumour mill, of course, such as knowing who was on which side of the war, whose parents or siblings were fighting or part of the new ministry. Sometimes one could even get reliable information about the resistance, if one knew where to go. But when the word being spread was not of utter importance like news about the war, Lily hated rumours.

She hated them most of all in the beginning of her seventh year, because all of it was about her and James.

It wasn't like this was unexpected. In fact, Lily had anticipated it, and she and the Marauders (minus Peter, but she had ceased to think much of him as of late and had no problems calling her three friends 'Marauders' despite their missing member) had even laughed at the possible rumours that might start floating around at the beginning of the year. But they had spoken of funny rumours; the world had all gone mad—Dumbledore making James Head Boy; Lily Evans having a civil conversation with him—or James had bewitched her; and the probable yet untrue rumours; they were now going out; Lily had recognised her true feelings for the popular boy and was now trying to atone for her past actions; James was trying a new approach to woo his love and it was working; and, (the worst, in Lily's opinion) they weren't official, or even really going out, but shagging in their shared common room and single bedrooms. The rumours, however, were more than that; Dumbledore was a blood traitor and had to pick the two worst possible people (in terms of blood status) to head the school, and in light of their common beliefs, the two decided to become friendly; James was worse than just a blood traitor, he had vowed to marry Lily and to disregard his family and his duty just to be with her; Lily had realised that as soon as she left school, there would be nothing in this world for her and her kind, and if James was willing to be with her forever, would use him to be a part of the wizarding world.

"None of them are true." The two insisted the following night as they gathered around the Marauder's usual spot next to the fireplace. Their seating could have been a mirror to the time on the train, except that they were all (well, all except Sirius) trying to work on their homework and ultimately failing.

"Well of course none of them are true!" Sirius exclaimed. "After all, if Dumbledore were to pick the biggest blood traitor and the best muggle-born in seventh year, then _I'd_ be Head Boy. And James wouldn't ever need to disregard his family and duty to marry Lily-flower; his parents love her almost as much as they love me! And as for that last rumour, well, Lily has many more options than that, being the best witch of our year." Lily sent a half-grateful, half exasperated look at him.

"Well, _none_ of the rumours are true, funny, serious, or terrible." James declared, scribbling something down on his parchment.

"What, even the one about you bewitching Lily?" Marlene asked in mock shock. Lily sent her a dry look, and she grinned at her best friend.

"Even the one about you two being together?" Alice muttered under her breath. Lily wasn't sure if she had meant anyone to hear, but _she_ did, and she took great offence in that sentence.

"Even that one, Alice." She replied bitingly. "You know the truth, and there's nothing more than what we told you."

"Aside from Dumbledore's personal reasons for choosing Prongs, of course." Remus said, talking to his parchment as he wrote furiously.

"How do you have so much?" Marlene asked disparagingly. She was at least as good in academics as Remus was, which was one of the reasons Lily was friends with her (and not those other girls, those airheads in her year) but in relating all she had heard from the famous Hogwarts rumour mill, she had fallen behind on their homework.

"Ask Lily, she's farther than I." Was his short reply.

"Shut up, all of you, I need to conclude." Lily said shortly. What had she even _written_ in this entire essay? How could she have allowed herself to be even _slightly_ distracted? If this kept on, she'd be utterly _swamped_ with work in a month!

"Can I steal that from you?" A voice said in her ear—not softly, as if it were a secret, but as his mouth was near her ear, James had spoken quietly into it. He was pointing at one of her paragraphs, where she had stated the importance of changing your expressions and mannerisms when under disguise; _that's_ what the essay was about: disguises and their uses and limitations. "Lily?" James asked quietly when she didn't reply.

"Oh, right, sorry, yeah." She said, shocked out of her stupor. "Just as long as you don't copy it. Just the idea." She felt rather than heard his chuckle, and she briefly wondered how they had gotten so close to each other, but then figured he had been reading her essay over her shoulder while she herself was submersed in it. James moved farther away, back to his own paper, and there was silence for a while within their circle as Lily finished her essay.

"Finished, love?" Sirius asked, slinging his arm around her shoulders again (she had shaken him off when he first tried it, claiming that she needed to move around to do her essay), "Took you a little longer than I'd have imagined, actually. Remus is on his conclusion already." Sirius continued airily. The said Marauder shot his mate (Lily really liked that word to describe the two, better than _friends_) a look that clearly said, _shut up_, but Sirius, of course, merely grinned and stretched his legs out.

"You're not copying off me tonight." Remus said as he wrote another sentence.

"Write your own, Padfoot." James added as Sirius looked imploringly at him.

Sirius threw his hands up in the air, about to exclaim the unfairness of it all, Lily was sure, when Remus' head snapped up and he asked, with great surprise, "Where's Wormtail?"

There was a moment of silence as everyone looked up from their work and searched the common room for their friend.

"He did mention having something to do after dinner, I think." Alice said uncertainly.

"It's been an hour or so since dinner, though, he's never been gone for this long without telling us exactly where he is." Remus replied, worried.

"Especially with the homework that we have." James added.

The three Marauders looked at each other, and Lily wished, not for the first time, that she could be part of that understanding which passed between them, but communicating through looks was an act perfected by the brothers six or seven years ago, born of the secrets they shared, and Lily had only a few month's time to go on.

"Maybe he's upstairs." Sirius finally announced, springing up, and in a blink of an eye, disappeared up the staircase to the boy's dormitory.

Everyone went back to work, and after a few minutes Lily and Marlene, who had just finished, were able to trade papers and critique each other's work, as they often did. Lily was just past the introduction when Sirius came back down, a tiny frown upon his face. James and Remus immediately got up to talk to their friend, but Lily and the other girls decided against following them.

"Well, wherever he is, I'm sure he's fine." Remus announced as the three joined them again.

"He always is, whether he looks it or not." James added. "And he'll come back eventually."

"Probably just found himself a bird." Sirius commented in his flippant manner, one that Lily, at least, could now see through. "'Bout time, too." He snickered, and his two friends smirked, but Lily could see through that one too—she saw Remus' worry in his eyes and furrowed eyebrows, James' uncertainty by the pressing of his lips and erratic placement of his hands.

"Well then, might as well finish your essays so he'll be able to pass this year." Lily said, instead of pressuring them more to talk.

"And so that maybe _I'll_ be able to pass this year?" Sirius added.

"You can do it yourself, we all know that." James scoffed as he sat back down to do his work. "So glad I don't have to stay up all night anymore because you insisted on keeping the lights on until you were done with your homework." He remarked.

"I'll still have to go through that." Remus said. "So maybe you can copy mine, if you'll only let me get a decent night's sleep." He put his quill down and sighed. "Just need to read it through once more, anyway." He muttered.

"Here, want me to read it through for you?" Lily suggested, having finished Marlene's paper (albeit a bit haphazardly).

"Would you?" Remus sighed, "I can't believe they're giving us so much work so early in the year. You're an angel." He added as Lily took his paper from him.

She made some sound of assent, and began to read his paper, correcting it when needed.

There wasn't much conversation as Lily read and finished with Remus' essay, trading it back for her own, which she then copied, with the corrections, onto a clean sheet of parchment. (Her hand began cramping and she wondered, not for the first time, why wizards didn't seem to know what typewriters were.) She then consented to read over James' essay as well, and offered to do so with Alice, but her friend declined in favour of Marlene's offer to do it sooner.

They all finished with their homework in less than an hour later, and Lily and James decided to go off to their own rooms, despite Peter not being back yet; James made the other four promise to tell him the details of Wormtail's whereabouts the next day, and they headed out.

Rooming was one of the subjects of their numerous meetings during the summer, and so when, the day before, the two had gone up to their shared common room, there had been no problems. Books, gladly, were put onto the shelves where they could both benefit from the variety of the other, and Lily had immediately placed a bowl of chocolate on one of the tables. They had already set up rules for the place: no entering one another's private rooms without express consent, and no allowing anyone, _anyone,_ from going into their common room _or_ their private bedrooms, including Marauders. Only the two of them were to know the passwords, and these rooms were to be their safe haven from the chaos that came with living in Hogwarts.

* * *

><p><strong>Shoot, I just thought of a flaw in the characters-a small one, but still one (and because I feel I have to be honest with you all): Alice was supposed to be sort-of friends with James. They were supposed to know each other from before, but now I'm changing it up-assume they were never really friends, despite her going to his new years parties and such. (which I'd forgotten about.) If you have no idea what I'm talking about, very good, carry on.<strong>

**Review, please!**


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